Products sold in Taiwan by Japanese milk powder supplier Meiji have all passed radiation safety checks and are unaffected by recalls in Japan prompted by traces of radioactive cesium detected in its infant formula, the firm said yesterday.
Tsai Chung-cheng (蔡崇程), a spokesperson for the firm’s Taiwanese branch, said that all of Meiji’s powdered milk products sold in Taiwan through authorized retailers come from Australia and have not been contaminated by the radioactive substance.
The manufacturer in Japan voluntarily recalled about 400,000 cans of its Meiji Step powdered milk, which was found to contain between 21.5 and 30.8 becquerels of cesium per kilogram of the formula, he said.
The legal limit for the radioactive substance is 200 becquerels in Japan and 370 becquerels in Taiwan, he added.
In addition, the Department of Health said yesterday that a total of nine batches of Meiji’s powdered milk have been imported to Taiwan since the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster, none of which have failed radiation safety checks.
The Consumer Protection Commission said consumers who purchased the affected formula from local online stores are entitled to a refund.
The commission said that it and foreign relations officials would also provide assistance for consumers who have purchased the formula from foreign Web sites and want their money refunded.
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