The Taipei Department of Health yesterday said 688,000 cans of dietary supplements imported and resold by Abbott Taiwan (亞培台灣), which were pulled from shelves in September due to suspected quality defects, have been disposed of, with the process expected to be completed by March.
The department issued a notice on six types of Abbott’s canned dietary supplements — Ensure (original flavor), Suplena, Nepro, Osmolite, Jevity and Osmolite HN — and ordered the removal on a precaution after the company received 629 complaints in eight months.
The number of complaints was about 22 times the number it received in the same period last year, and Abbott headquarters in May informed Abbott Taiwan about mild bacterial contamination detected in products, the department said, adding that Abbott Taiwan failed to report the situation within 24 hours.
Photo: CNA, courtesy of the Taipei Department of Health
The company last month was fined NT$100,000 as stipulated by Taipei’s food safety regulations.
The department yesterday said that 1,078,072 cans were pulled from shelves because the company could not prove them to be safe for consumption.
The department cooperated with the Food and Drug Administration and the Taoyuan Department of Public Health to dispose of the first batch of 648,000 cans from Monday to Friday last week, it said.
However, considering the large number of products, the department said that the work would not be finished before March.
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