The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said it was in the process of proposing regulatory changes to require food and beverage manufacturers of a certain scale to hire technical experts to ensure that their food safety is up to par.
The latest food scare that began when authorities found contamination in ingredients sourced from Yu Shen Chemical Co (昱伸香料有限公司) and Pin Han Perfumery Co (賓漢香料公司) has prompted vows from lawmakers and government officials to stamp out illegally added harmful chemicals to foods, beverages, medicine and cosmetics.
The two firms have been found to use di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, or DEHP, and diisononyl phthalate, or DINP, respectively, in clouding agents they sold to food processors.
Photo: Huang Chi-yuan, Taipei Times
Health officials said proposed amendments to the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) would extend the Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point system to a more extensive list of food and beverage businesses, such as those who manufacture food additives and processed foods.
Businesses of a certain scale would be legally required to apply quality control management at every point in the manufacturing process and strengthen that process by having technical experts familiar with food sanitation codes on-site instead of the usual practice of hiring chemical engineers, said Tsai Shu-chen (蔡淑貞), chief of the Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) food division.
“Chemical engineers may not be as familiar with food sanitation regulations as food scientists, who should be at manufacturing sites to ensure that the food products manufactured by a company adhere to the standards set forth by authorities,” Tsai said.
The government also wants to increase the maximum fines for food safety violations. Currently, violators who add illegal ingredients to food and beverages can be fined a maximum of NT$300,000 (US$10,500). Authorities want to boost the fines to between NT$1 million and NT$10 million, and increase the maximum prison term from three years to up to five years.
Meanwhile, Chen A-ho (陳阿和), the owner of Ging Kuo Wang (金果王), was detained by judges in Taipei yesterday for allegedly removing juice seized from his firm.
Chan and his son were called in for questioning yesterday. Shilin District (士林) prosecutors said Ging Kuo Wang bought questionable clouding agents from Yu Shen Chemical Co and added them to the juice it produces. The firm is the main provider to several vendors in the Shilin Night Market and other night markets, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said they had seized two tonnes of questionable juice from the company and sealed it with official strips.
Chen’s son was released by prosecutors on bail of NT$150,000.
South Korea and China yesterday banned Taiwanese beverages, jams, syrups, jellies and other products suspected of DEHP contamination. Philippine authorities also ordered a massive recall of Taiwanese-made food and drink products.
Additional reporting by Rich Chang and AFP
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