The Council of Agriculture took emergency measures this week to stop allegedly contaminated duck eggs produced at a central Taiwan farm from entering the market.
Council Chairman Lee Chin-lung (
In June, duck eggs produced in Hsienhsi (
The county's environmental bureau tested duck eggs from the Shenkang farm on Aug. 18 and Aug. 24 and found that of the five samples, two had toxicity of 7.34pg TEQ/g fat and 7.83pg TEQ/g fat, respectively, far exceeding the EU's food safety limit of 3pg TEQ/g fat.
A picogram (pg) is one trillionth of a gram. One picogram of toxicity equivalent per gram of fat is expressed as 1pg TEQ/g fat.
Lee said the authorities were holding all the ducks and 6,000kg of duck eggs pending further checkups. If dioxin levels exceed safety limits, the birds and the eggs will be destroyed, he added.
As Environmental Protection Minister Chang Kuo-lung (
In Kaohsiung, officials visited the feed manufacturer, Mao Sheng Feed Company, and took two samples to be analyzed by National Cheng Kung University's Institute of Environmental Engineering.
The Environmental Protection Administration was informed by the county bureau on Sept. 21 of its tests, but the agency did not notify the Council of Agriculture until Tuesday, triggering allegations that the delay allowed a significant amount of contaminated eggs to enter the market.
A magnitude 6.4 earthquake struck off the coast of Hualien County in eastern Taiwan at 7pm yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The epicenter of the temblor was at sea, about 69.9km south of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 30.9km, it said. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The earthquake’s intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was highest in Taitung County’s Changbin Township (長濱), where it measured 5 on Taiwan’s seven-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 4 in Hualien, Nantou, Chiayi, Yunlin, Changhua and Miaoli counties, as well as
Credit departments of farmers’ and fishers’ associations blocked a total of more than NT$180 million (US$6.01 million) from being lost to scams last year, National Police Agency (NPA) data showed. The Agricultural Finance Agency (AFA) said last week that staff of farmers’ and fishers’ associations’ credit departments are required to implement fraud prevention measures when they serve clients at the counter. They would ask clients about personal financial management activities whenever they suspect there might be a fraud situation, and would immediately report the incident to local authorities, which would send police officers to the site to help, it said. NPA data showed
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The Taipei MRT is to begin accepting mobile payment services in the fall, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said on Saturday. When the company finishes the installation of new payment units at ticketing gates in October, MRT passengers can use credit cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, the operator said. In addition, the MRT would also provide QR payment codes — which would be compatible with Line Pay, Jkopay, iPass Money, PXPay Plus, EasyWallet, iCash Pay, Taiwan Pay and Taishin Pay — to access the railway system. Currently, passengers can access the Taipei MRT by buying a single-journey token or using EasyCard,
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