An ad hoc team formed by the Taipei City Government yesterday began monitoring food safety, fire safety, product labeling and hygiene conditions at this year’s Lunar New Year market on the city’s Dihua Street (迪化街).
The team consists of inspectors from the city government’s Consumer Services Center, Office of Commerce, Department of Health, Department of Environmental Protection and Fire Department.
The market, which runs until Feb. 3, opened yesterday was crowded with people shopping for candies, snacks and dried goods for the Lunar New Year holiday.
Photo: CNA
Taipei City Government chief consumer protection officer Ho Hsiu-lan (何修蘭) said the key focus of inspections this year is food safety and hygiene, as well as to find out where the dried mushrooms and other dried foods that are sold in bulk were sourced, to prevent vendors from selling smuggled goods of unknown quality.
She said that people should follow “five noes” when purchasing food for the holiday: Avoid buying food if the information on its label is unclear, avoid dried food that is too brightly colored and avoid food if it has a strange smell, if the place of origin is unclear or if the product is damaged.
The team urges consumers to pay attention to unit prices, observe the food hygiene and sanitation practiced by vendors, and not to believe exaggerated claims regarding the medical efficacy of products, Ho said.
As many consumers are concerned about the safety of pork products, due to the African swine fever outbreak in China, she said that consumers are entitled to ask vendors to show the certificate of origin of their products.
When consumers come across suspected food safety problems or consumer disputes at the market, they can call the “1999” hotline within the city — (02) 2720-8889, extension 7079 if calling from other areas — or call the national consumer protection “1950” hotline, the inspection team said.
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