The Consumers’ Foundation filed a class-action suit with the Banciao District Court on Thursday, alleging that 37 downstream food distributors were liable in a plasticizer-contamination food scare that erupted last year.
The foundation filed the complaint on behalf of 568 consumers, who are seeking NT$7.87 billion (US$266 million) in compensation, the largest amount ever sought by the foundation in a lawsuit.
A total of 143 people are seeking damages from BioChain Biotech, a health supplement manufacturer, while Taiwan’s largest convenience store chain, 7-Eleven, is being asked to pay NT$1.5 billion for selling the tainted food, the foundation said.
Consumers’ Foundation chairwoman Joann Su (蘇錦霞) said the group of consumers had appealed to the foundation for help between November last year and January this year, and she hoped the action would prompt businesses to improve food safety for consumers.
Consumers’ Foundation vice chairwoman Hsu Tse-yu (徐則鈺) added that under Taiwan’s Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法), food distributors are also liable for damages if their products cause harm to consumers.
The discovery of plasticizer-tainted products in many processed foods, including sports drinks, juices, jams and bubble tea, forced a widespread recall of products in May last year.
Following the plasticizer scare, the foundation started a two-month survey in July last year to gauge consumers’ views on the incident. The survey, which collected 2,142 samples, showed consumers’ confidence was heavily affected.
More than half of respondents also said that consumers’ rights were not upheld and compensation was lacking during the incident, the poll showed.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
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COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai