As much as 88 percent of condoms sold in adult erotic stores have not passed inspections by the health authorities, according to the results of a survey released yesterday by the Consumers' Foundation ahead of Valentine's Day.
The foundation examined 25 condom brands purchased from 11 stores in Taipei City and Taipei County on Feb. 3 and Feb. 4.
While all brands of condoms sold on the market are required to be registered with the Department of Health as a medical product and to display a license code on their packaging, the survey found that 18 of the surveyed products did not carry a license code and four others carried codes that did not belong to their brands.
PHOTO: SUNG CHIH-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
Only two types of condoms were labeled with all the information required by the Pharmaceutical Affairs Law (
The labeling of six condom packages was inconsistent in terms of the manufacturing and expiration dates given on their inner and outer packaging, while four others were past their expiration dates, the foundation found.
Among the 18 condoms with fragrances that were sampled, 12, or 67 percent, either did not indicate their ingredients at all or did not clearly label their ingredients, the survey said.
The chairman of the Consumers' Foundation, Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏), urged the Department of Health to step up its inspection of condoms and to fine those manufacturers who fail to comply with the regulations.
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
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