Beginning on July 1, large-scale food and beverage operators would be brought under a new framework requiring them to use only washed and graded eggs. Many have questioned the added costs this would incur, while others argue that such regulations are excessively strict. However, speaking from the front lines of the food supply chain, I must say that this requirement is not an additional burden, but a much- needed adjustment.
Loose eggs — which come unwashed, lack proper packaging and are sold in bulk — have been in use for a long time. However, their problem lies not in their quality, but in the absence of a proper management system. They lack clearly defined shelf lives and batch management is often incomplete. Thus it becomes incredibly difficult to trace the source of an issue when one arises. Although these conditions incur lower costs, they are the result of risks that have not been managed properly.
The core value of washed and graded eggs lies in their process rather than their appearance. The cleaning, grading and removal of abnormal eggs — combined with proper storage conditions and expiration labeling — ensure that basic risk control is completed prior to the eggs entering the food service sector. All washed and graded eggs are uniformly ink-stamped with their production line, batch number and time information printed directly onto the shell. With this, traceability is no longer merely a matter of paperwork.
The primary biological risks associated with eggs have always been concentrated at the raw material handling and storage stages, with salmonella being the most representative example. The purpose of the washed and graded egg system is precisely to address these risks earlier in the process so as to reduce the likelihood that such issues reach the food service sector, rather than waiting to take remedial action.
Over the past few years, reviews of food poisoning cases have often revealed that the problem did not stem from the actions of a single person, but rather long-standing ambiguities in the handling of raw materials, storage processes and the allocation of responsibility. Recent public debate has largely focused on rising costs, but food safety has never been a cost-free choice. When incidents occur, the cost is borne by both consumers and the public health system — and the resulting costs far exceed the expense of consistently implementing basic food safety procedures from the start.
Those working on the ground know quite well that risk never disappears — it is merely a question of who bears it. Putting necessary procedures in place keeps that risk within the system instead of shifting it onto consumers or the healthcare system. Such a cost is not wasteful — it is a basic price worth paying. Therefore, the significance of the washed and graded egg system lies not in making the products look more appealing, but in drawing clearer boundaries of responsibility. When processes are complete and labeling transparent, problems can be traced to the source and risks are less likely to be passed on to consumers.
The cost of using washed and graded eggs is not an added burden — it is work that should have been completed as an integral part of food safety from the start. What truly deserves scrutiny is not the law for being too strict, but the system for being able to operate in the past without these basic standards. What is lacking is not a proper method for handling eggs, but a professional attitude that treats food safety measures as a necessary cost.
Chang Shang-yang is a farmer.
Translated by Kyra Gustavsen
The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has long been expansionist and contemptuous of international law. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), the CCP regime has become more despotic, coercive and punitive. As part of its strategy to annex Taiwan, Beijing has sought to erase the island democracy’s international identity by bribing countries to sever diplomatic ties with Taipei. One by one, China has peeled away Taiwan’s remaining diplomatic partners, leaving just 12 countries (mostly small developing states) and the Vatican recognizing Taiwan as a sovereign nation. Taiwan’s formal international space has shrunk dramatically. Yet even as Beijing has scored diplomatic successes, its overreach
After more than a year of review, the National Security Bureau on Monday said it has completed a sweeping declassification of political archives from the Martial Law period, transferring the full collection to the National Archives Administration under the National Development Council. The move marks another significant step in Taiwan’s long journey toward transitional justice. The newly opened files span the architecture of authoritarian control: internal security and loyalty investigations, intelligence and counterintelligence operations, exit and entry controls, overseas surveillance of Taiwan independence activists, and case materials related to sedition and rebellion charges. For academics of Taiwan’s White Terror era —
After 37 US lawmakers wrote to express concern over legislators’ stalling of critical budgets, Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜) pledged to make the Executive Yuan’s proposed NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.7 billion) special defense budget a top priority for legislative review. On Tuesday, it was finally listed on the legislator’s plenary agenda for Friday next week. The special defense budget was proposed by President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration in November last year to enhance the nation’s defense capabilities against external threats from China. However, the legislature, dominated by the opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), repeatedly blocked its review. The
In her article in Foreign Affairs, “A Perfect Storm for Taiwan in 2026?,” Yun Sun (孫韻), director of the China program at the Stimson Center in Washington, said that the US has grown indifferent to Taiwan, contending that, since it has long been the fear of US intervention — and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) inability to prevail against US forces — that has deterred China from using force against Taiwan, this perceived indifference from the US could lead China to conclude that a window of opportunity for a Taiwan invasion has opened this year. Most notably, she observes that
RSS