Most of the food products sold at convenience stores that claim to contain fresh strawberries instead contain food additives and not the actual fruit, an investigative report by the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister newspaper of the Taipei Times) has found.
Capitalizing on the strawberry season, which lasts from December to April, many convenience stores and food producers have launched products that purportedly contain fresh strawberries.
Of the nation’s four major convenience store chain operators, President Chain Store Corp’s (統一超商) 7-Eleven and Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店) each sell about 40 products claiming to contain strawberries.
Photo: Liu Hsiao-hsin, Taipei Times
However, none of the products sold at 7-Eleven stores and only two at Taiwan FamilyMart stores actually contained strawberries, while of the 18 strawberry food products sold at Pxmart (全聯實業), only half contained the fruit, the report found.
The products’ ingredients include food additives such as spices, food coloring, thickeners and sweeteners, in addition to other common ingredients, while ingredients related to strawberries are actually derivatives of the fruit, such as syrup, jam or powdered strawberries, it said.
7-Eleven on Friday said that its strawberry products clearly list their ingredients on their labels, adding that none of them contravene the regulations.
Taiwan FamilyMart said that it is normal practice to promote products that are in season and consumers are free to purchase products according to their needs.
Pxmart said that all of its strawberry products contain strawberries, adding that while the fruit might be processed into different forms, its strawberry products are all authentic.
The Executive Yuan’s Department of Consumer Protection Officer Wang Te-ming (王德明) said that labels should be clear, as consumers have the right to know what the products contain.
Consumer Protection Foundation chairman Yu Kai-hsiung (游開雄) said products promoting seasonal fruits should include the fruit, adding that the foundation has long criticized a discrepancy between product names and their contents.
Food additives do not have a serious effect on health, doctors said, but drew attention to the overconsumption of sugar, fats and starch.
The nation’s food labeling regulations are strict, said Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛), a doctor at National Taiwan University Hospital, adding that as long as the food industry follows the regulations, the public need not worry about acute poisoning or bodily harm.
The consumption of sugar is the main issue, Taiwan Adventist Hospital nutritionist Liu Yi-li (劉怡里) said, as its overconsumption could lead to obesity, a high percentage of body fat, high levels of triglyceride or metabolic syndromes.
Children are likely consume more processed food than vegetables and fruits, National Taiwan University’s Institute of Food Science and Technology professor Sheen Lee-yan (沈立言) said, adding that parents should feed their children more fruits and teach them the difference between natural and processed food.
Conflict with Taiwan could leave China with “massive economic disruption, catastrophic military losses, significant social unrest, and devastating sanctions,” a US think tank said in a report released on Monday. The German Marshall Fund released a report titled If China Attacks Taiwan: The Consequences for China of “Minor Conflict” and “Major War” Scenarios. The report details the “massive” economic, military, social and international costs to China in the event of a minor conflict or major war with Taiwan, estimating that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) could sustain losses of more than half of its active-duty ground forces, including 100,000 troops. Understanding Chinese
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday said it is closely monitoring developments in Venezuela, and would continue to cooperate with democratic allies and work together for regional and global security, stability, and prosperity. The remarks came after the US on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who was later flown to New York along with his wife. The pair face US charges related to drug trafficking and alleged cooperation with gangs designated as terrorist organizations. Maduro has denied the allegations. The ministry said that it is closely monitoring the political and economic situation
UNRELENTING: China attempted cyberattacks on Taiwan’s critical infrastructure 2.63 million times per day last year, up from 1.23 million in 2023, the NSB said China’s cyberarmy has long engaged in cyberattacks against Taiwan’s critical infrastructure, employing diverse and evolving tactics, the National Security Bureau (NSB) said yesterday, adding that cyberattacks on critical energy infrastructure last year increased 10-fold compared with the previous year. The NSB yesterday released a report titled Analysis on China’s Cyber Threats to Taiwan’s Critical Infrastructure in 2025, outlining the number of cyberattacks, major tactics and hacker groups. Taiwan’s national intelligence community identified a large number of cybersecurity incidents last year, the bureau said in a statement. China’s cyberarmy last year launched an average of 2.63 million intrusion attempts per day targeting Taiwan’s critical
‘SLICING METHOD’: In the event of a blockade, the China Coast Guard would intercept Taiwanese ships while its navy would seek to deter foreign intervention China’s military drills around Taiwan this week signaled potential strategies to cut the nation off from energy supplies and foreign military assistance, a US think tank report said. The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) conducted what it called “Justice Mission 2025” exercises from Monday to Tuesday in five maritime zones and airspace around Taiwan, calling them a warning to “Taiwanese independence” forces. In a report released on Wednesday, the Institute for the Study of War said the exercises effectively simulated blocking shipping routes to major port cities, including Kaohsiung, Keelung and Hualien. Taiwan would be highly vulnerable under such a blockade, because it
RSS