While nearly 80 percent of soybeans used for food are genetically modified, the Customs Administration should strictly classify imported soybeans into different grades for different uses, Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Frida Tsai (蔡培慧) said yesterday.
A total of 2.685 million tonnes of soybeans were imported last year, but only 59,000 tonnes were non-genetically modified soybeans, she said, adding that soybeans are a common food ingredient.
According to a US agricultural report, Taiwanese consume approximately 280,000 tonnes of soybeans as food per year, which is much higher than the amount of non-genetically modified imported soybeans.
Photo: Chien Jung-fong, Taipei Times
“Soybeans should be classified and controlled when they are being imported,” Tsai said, adding that the Customs Administration should differentiate between “food-grade” and “feed-grade” soybeans, as well as “genetically modified” and “non-genetically modified” soybeans, to ensure food safety.
She suggested the agency use specialized commodity codes for the different types of soybeans.
Tsai also urged the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate that soybeans for food use must be non-genetically modified food-grade soybeans.
Genetically modified food-grade soybeans should only be used for making cooking oil, while feed-grade soybeans should not be made into any type of food, Tsai said.
A report made by Homemakers United Foundation earlier this year cited a Japanese study by the US Soybean Export Council, in which it said Japan imports about 3 million tonnes of soybeans per year, with 66 percent used for making cooking oil, 4 percent for animal feed and 30 percent for food use — such as making tofu, miso, natto and soy sauce.
Most of the direct food-use soybeans were non-genetically modified, it said.
Customs Administration Deputy Director-General Hsieh Ling-yuan (謝鈴媛) said imported soybeans are classified into non-genetically modified and genetically modified soybeans, and that differentiating between food-grade and feed-grade soybeans is technically possible, but it would require extra funding because custom officers are not able to tell them apart by sight.
FDA official Chen Hsin-cheng (陳信誠) said that it is possible to use different codes for the different types of imported soybeans and the agency would discuss the issue with the Council of Agriculture.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS