The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced regulations to manage the advertising and promotion of food that is inappropriate for children’s health.
Beginning next month, commercials advertising unhealthy food are to be prohibited from broadcasting on children’s channels between 5pm to 9pm, and unhealthy meals aimed at children be prohibited from offering free toys, based on the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), that was passed on Nov. 20 and is to be implemented on Jan. 1.
“Snacks, candies, beverages, frozen treats and fast-food” that contain “trans fats, saturated fats, sodium or added sugar” exceeding regulation standards will be targeted by the new regulation, the FDA said.
The regulation stipulates that trans fats should not exceed 30 percent of the total daily calorie intake, saturated fats should not exceed 10 percent the total daily calorie intake, sodium should not exceed 400mg per serving and added sugars should not exceed 10 percent the total daily calorie intake.
FDA official Chih Lan-hui (遲蘭慧) said the targeted food products are to be banned from “airing commercials between 5pm to 9pm on children’s channels” and “show signs of using these food to replace nutritious meals in their advertising.”
Advertising of food products considered unhealthy for children are allowed to be aired in time slots when children are less likely to be watching television or on other channels, such as news channels, less often watched by children alone, she said.
Chih said the regulated food products are no longer allowed to offer free toys, or use toys as rewards for attracting children.
Fast food chain McDonald’s has already changed its menu late last month in response to the regulations, and kids’ meals are now served with fruit or salad and juice or milk, instead of fries and soda, she said.
Violations of the act face a fine between NT$40,000 and NT$4 million, (US$1211 to US$121,193) the FDA said, adding it will ask health departments to supervise companies and increase inspections when the regulation comes into effect.
UNDER WATCH: Taiwan will have to establish a standardized nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus and monitor its spread, the CDC said The Langya henipavirus, which can be transmitted from animals to humans, has been discovered in China, with 35 human infections reported so far, Taiwan’s Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said, adding that the nation would establish a nucleic acid testing method to identify the virus. A study titled “A Zoonotic Henipavirus in Febrile Patients in China” that was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on Thursday said that a new henipavirus associated with a fever-causing human illness was identified in China. The study said an investigation identified 35 patients with acute infection of the Langya henipavirus in China’s Shandong
MISSILE PATHS: Certain information on the Chinese missile fire was not disclosed to maintain secrecy over military intelligence-gathering capabilities, the MND said Military experts yesterday speculated on the implication of the government’s tight-lipped response and the lack of air-raid sirens during the first day of China’s military drills the previous day. On Thursday, the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) launched 11 Dongfeng-series ballistic missiles into waters north, east and south of Taiwan, a day after US House of Representative Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s departure from the country, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said. The Japanese Ministry of Defense said that China fired nine missiles toward Taiwan, including four that flew over Taiwan proper. However, China’s exhibition of force failed to terrorize the local populace, because
If any war were to break out between the US and China, one trigger might be the increasingly frequent fighter jet encounters near Taiwan. Almost every day, Taiwanese fighter pilots hop in their US-made F-16s to intercept Chinese warplanes screaming past their territory. The encounters probe the nation’s defenses and force the pilots on both sides to avoid mistakes that could lead to a crisis that spins out of control. “I didn’t know whether they would fire at me,” said retired colonel Mountain Wang, recounting a tense five-minute confrontation he had with Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) jets more than a decade
INCREASINGLY EMBOLDENED: China can no longer be dismissed as inexperienced, demonstrating an ability to coordinate land and sea missile systems, an expert said Beijing’s largest-ever exercises around Taiwan have offered essential clues into its plans for a grueling blockade in the event of an attack on Taiwan, and revealed an increasingly emboldened Chinese military, experts said. The visit to Taiwan by US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi — second in line to the presidency — sparked outrage from Beijing, which launched vast military maneuvers around the nation, even at the risk of partially exposing its plans to the US and its Asian allies. Mobilizing fighter planes, helicopters and warships, the drills aim to simulate a blockade of Taiwan and include practicing an “attack on