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Lawmaker calls for certification system for vegetarian food

"Many medicines and capsules also contain gelatin made from animal sources. Those should also be labeled honestly."

Lin Hong-chi, KMT legislator

A certification should be developed for vegetarian foods to ensure consumers can trust labeling on packages, a legislator said yesterday at a meeting of the legislature's Sanitation, Environment, Social Welfare and Labor Committee.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Hong-chi (林鴻池) said it was difficult for vegetarians to be sure that products they chose at markets and supermarkets are free of meat. He called for a system to regulate and label products for various types of vegetarianism and religious diets.

The government should be more vigilant in ensuring that companies are not mislabeling foods and medicines that contain animal products and vegetables that are not allowed in certain religious diets.

While Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mao (侯勝茂) responded positively to Lin's proposal, he said it there would have to be consultations with the Council of Agriculture and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to assess the feasibility of such a certification program before moving head with the idea.

Lin, a vegetarian, told the committee that the rights of the nation's approximately 2 million vegetarians were not adequately protected.

"There are a lot of black-hearted vegetarian foods out there," Lin said. "Not enough attention is paid to the issue, meaning that vegetarians' rights are not being protected."

The Chinese term `black-hearted' refers to products that are subpar but appear acceptable.

As in the West, vegetarians in Taiwan do not all follow the same dietary rules.

There are many kinds of vegetarians, Lin said. Some eat milk and eggs, while others are strict vegans. Many Buddhist vegetarians also do not eat garlic, spring onions or onions.

But many products claim only to be "vegetarian," without clearly indicating which standard they follow or what kind of seasoning and vegetables they contain. This makes it difficult, for example, for vegetarians who do not eat certain vegetables to confirm that a product is safe for them to eat.

"Many medicines and capsules also contain gelatin made from animal sources," Lin said. "Those should also be labeled honestly."

Lin suggested that a certification scheme similar to the system in place for organic foods should be implemented.
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