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DOH sets up channel on safety of Chinese imports

Taiwan has set up communication and notification channels for food safety with China, Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) said last night.

“The two sides established contact windows for emergency notification regarding food safety, and will continue to keep communication channels open based on the agreement,” Yeh told a press conference after the return of a Taiwanese delegation from Beijing earlier in the day.

The delegation included officials from the Mainland Affairs Council, the Bureau of Food Sanitation and the Bureau of Health Promotion and Bureau of Food Safety.

The three-day trip was arranged in the wake of widespread fears over melamine-tainted Chinese dairy products and food ingredients in Taiwan.

The two sides would continue discussions on ensuring the accuracy and transparency of related information and setting up inspection and management mechanisms to prevent future food scandals, Yeh said.

He said Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) had instructed him to use the channels to clarify whether products imported from China were contaminated. China’s Taiwan Affairs Office Spokesman Li Weiyi (李維一) said on Wednesday that non-dairy creamer from China’s Zhongshi Duqing (Shandong) Biotech Co was not contaminated, refuting tests conducted in Taiwan.

Yeh said the Bureau of Food and Drug Analysis, the Food Industry Research and Development Institute and the Taoyuan County Health Bureau all confirmed that the tested samples contained melamine.

He said that newly produced instant coffee by King Car Industrial Co was free of contamination, and drank a cup of King Car coffee at the conference to prove his point.

Earlier this month, King Car, upon learning that tests showed eight of its products contained traces of melamine, informed the Department of Health (DOH) of its findings and recalled all of the potentially tainted products.

The DOH has authorized the Center for Disease Control to conduct a complete investigation into the King Car incident, including comparing batch numbers with Duqing Co to make sure the tested samples were part of the same batch, he said.

“If need be, we will help companies in Taiwan demand compensation from China,” Yeh said.

The DOH had planned to meet local health authorities in 25 counties and cities yesterday to coordinate on product inspection procedures and discuss updates on tracking down the source of tainted materials used by Pizza Hut.

DOH officials worked yesterday despite it being declared a typhoon day, but many local health authorities could not make it to Taipei because of a lack of transportation.

A panel plans to hold discussions today on the standardization of testing procedures and acceptable levels of melamine.

The DOH is also scheduled to hold talks on the issue today with experts in the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the EU, Yeh said.
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