Consumers can drink domestically produced fresh milk without worry after tests confirmed that local brands or raw milk collected from local dairy farms do not contain melamine, a Council of Agriculture (COA) official said on Monday.
Officials said the council had commissioned two nonprofit industry associations to determine whether any locally produced fresh or unpasteurized milk was tainted with melamine, the toxic chemical found to be prevalent in dairy ingredients from China.
The National Animal Industry Foundation and the Dairy Association tested 28 samples collected from 12 major producers of dairy products in Taiwan, and all the samples — 18 brands of fresh milk and 10 brands of unpasteurized milk — were free of melamine, council officials said.
The council said the 12 companies sampled account for more than 93 percent of all fresh milk sold domestically.
Testing on five samples collected from five smaller-scale fresh milk manufacturing companies is under way and results were expected today, the council said.
Concerns over melamine contamination in domestic products grew last week after it was learned that 22.7 tonnes of milk powder potentially containing melamine had been imported from China. The government has since barred Chinese dairy products.
Animal Industry Department Deputy Director Lee Chun-chin (李春進) said Taiwanese farmers would not need to cut costs by diluting their milk and adding melamine to get higher protein readings as had been done in China because the product’s hygiene and ingredients, rather than protein levels, are the key factors in determining its price.
“What we care about most are bacteria count, somatic cell count, fat ratio and solid particles in the raw milk rather than protein content,” Lee said.
“Paper cannot wrap up a fire. Any unscrupulous practice will be uncovered in the end. I don’t think our dairy farmers would be so stupid as to adopt unethical business practices,” he said.
Noting that the government has adopted a “cattle head” labeling system to certify hygiene and quality of locally produced fresh milk, Lee urged consumers to buy fresh milk carrying such certification labels.
BURST BUBBLES
Meanwhile, Taiwan’s beloved pearl tapioca milk tea (珍珠奶茶) industry has been badly hurt by the contamination scandal, vendors said yesterday. Shops selling the sweet drinks made from tea, milk and tapioca balls, have seen business drop by as much as 50 percent.
“Our business has been deeply affected since news of the milk powder contamination surfaced,” said an operator of a tea shop who declined to be named, adding that she usually sold more than 50 cups of milk tea a day, but now only sells about half that.
“People are panicking despite our efforts to reassure them that our creamers are not made in China,” she said.
Chen Cheng-liang, who owns a tea shop in Taoyuan County, said that her shop used creamer powder made in Southeast Asia or Australia. Although a 22.5kg bag of Chinese-made creamer costs between NT$1,700 and NT$1,800, slightly cheaper than the average NT$1,900 for similar products from other countries, Chen said she doesn’t use Chinese creamers because of their poor quality.
“The quality of creamers made in China is not acceptable, as some of them can hardly dissolve,” she said in a phone interview, adding that some street vendors could be using Chinese creamers.
The Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association has cautioned Japanese travelers to be vigilant against pickpockets at several popular tourist spots in Taiwan, including Taipei’s night markets, the Yongkang Street area, Zhongshan MRT Station, and Jiufen (九份) in New Taipei City. The advisory, titled “Recent Development of Concerns,” was posted on the association’s Web site under its safety and emergency report section. It urges travelers to keep backpacks fully zipped and carried in front, with valuables placed at the bottom of the bag. Visitors are advised to be especially mindful of their belongings when taking photos or speaking on the phone, avoid storing wallets and
ENDORSING TAIWAN: Honduran presidential candidate Nasry Afura said that Honduras was ‘100 times better off’ when it was allied with Taipei The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it would explore the possibility of restoring diplomatic relations with Honduras based on the principle of maintaining national interests and dignity. The ministry made the remarks in response to reporters’ questions regarding an article titled: “Will Taiwan Regain a Diplomatic Ally?” published in The Diplomat on Saturday. The article said Honduras’ presidential election in November could offer Taiwan the chance to regain an ally, as multiple candidates have promoted re-establishing diplomatic relations with Taiwan. Honduras severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan in March 2023 in favor of Beijing, but since switching its diplomatic recognition,
A fourth public debate was held today about restarting the recently decommissioned Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, ahead of a referendum on the controversial issue to be held in less than two weeks. A referendum on Aug. 23 is to ask voters if they agree that “the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant should continue operations upon approval by the competent authority and confirmation that there are no safety concerns.” Anyone over 18 years of age can vote in the referendum. The vote comes just three months after its final reactor shut down, officially making Taiwan nuclear-free. Taiwan People’s Party Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) represented
Scoot announced yesterday that starting in October, it would increase flights between Taipei and Japan’s Narita airport and Hokkaido, and between Singapore and Taipei. The low-cost airline, a subsidiary of Singapore Airlines, also said it would launch flights to Chiang Rai in Thailand, Okinawa and Tokyo’s Haneda airport between December and March next year. Flights between Singapore and Chiang Rai would begin on Jan. 1, with five flights per week operated by an Embraer E190-E2 aircraft, Scoot said. Flights between Singapore and Okinawa would begin on Dec. 15, with three flights per week operated by Airbus A320 aircraft, the airline said. Services between Singapore