The Department of Health yesterday introduced stricter rules governing vacuum-packaged foods, including setting a maximum of 10 days between the date of manufacture and the expiration date.
The new regulations come after recent cases of botulism in which victims reportedly ate vacuum-packaged dried beancurd.
The bacteria causing botulism, Clostridium botulinum, does not require oxygen to grow and thrives in vacuum packs if they are not sterilized thoroughly, posing a serious risk to consumers.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that starting in September, all vacuum-packaged, ready-to-eat foodstuffs that are not dried or completely sterilized at approved facilities must be refrigerated during shipping and retail.
Manufacturers must also indicate in large font on the front of the packaging that the product requires refrigeration or freezing.
Only food products that are thoroughly sterilized before being vacuum-packaged can be stored or displayed at room temperature.
Products from factories that do not properly sterilize their dried foods should be refrigerated, Food and Drug Administration Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) said.
The new regulations also state that vacuum-packaged foods should undergo additional processing such as salting, pickling or preserving and are not allowed more than 10 days between manufacture and expiration.
The FDA said the new rules would be officially announced next month and would go into effect in September. Local health officials will initially inspect and counsel businesses on the new regulations.
Manufacturers that fail to properly label their products will face fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, while those that fail to follow processing or storage standards will face fines of between NT$60,000 and NT$300,000 in addition to product recalls, Kang said.
Consumers should not purchase or consume food products that are not properly labeled or are from unknown origins, and to store or process the foods as suggested on the products’ labeling, officials said.
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