The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Thursday announced that it on Wednesday identified two products made by Mother Nature Co (春橋田) and Taiwan Naturals and Organics Inc (台灣有機) that contain repackaged ingredients that expired nine years ago.
The agency said it had impounded 29 tonnes of the products, adding that it ordered all products manufactured by the two firms to be removed from store shelves nationwide by midnight yesterday.
Administration official Yang Chien-hui (楊千慧) said that staff from both companies admitted that seven expired products — cashews, three types of almonds, oatmeal and powdered and granular black sugar — had been repackaged into a total of 31 products.
Photo provided by the New Taipei City Government’s Department of Health
One product, Kuang Chung Almonds (光中杏), contains almonds that expired in August 2008, which have been repackaged into the newer product over the past nine years, Yang said.
The administration is investigating which chain stores have distributed the expired products, but the list would not be published until every package is tracked down, FDA Southern Taiwan Management Center Director Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘) said.
The Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office said the two firms are suspected of having generated more than NT$1 million (US$33,132) in profit from sales of the products containing expired ingredients.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
The 56-year-old owner of both companies, surnamed Hsu (許), a general manager surnamed Tsai (蔡), an administrative department director also surnamed Tsai and a warehouse manager surnamed Cheng (鄭) were released on bail after questioning by prosecutors on Thursday, the office said.
Bail was set at NT$300,000 for Hsu, NT$200,000 each for the Tsais and NT$100,000 for Cheng, it added.
Harmful microorganisms can accumulate in food products that have expired, Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Department of Toxicology doctor Yan Tsung-hai (顏宗海) said, adding that ingesting such foods could cause acute gastroenteritis.
Photo: Huang Chien-hua, Taipei Times
If left too long after expiring, almonds and other nuts, as well as peanuts, can generate aflatoxins, which can cause hepatoxicity — chemically induced liver damage — after being eaten, Yan said.
Separately yesterday, the Taichung Department of Health said in a news release that 12.5 tonnes of unmarked pork was found in the possession of a meat importer in Cingshui District (清水) on April 26.
Frozen chicken drumsticks that had expired at least three months ago were also found at the importer, the department said, adding that all products have been impounded.
The department said it was investigating whether more products from the importer remain on the market.
Additional reporting by Tsai Shu-yuan
SLOW-MOVING STORM: The typhoon has started moving north, but at a very slow pace, adding uncertainty to the extent of its impact on the nation Work and classes have been canceled across the nation today because of Typhoon Krathon, with residents in the south advised to brace for winds that could reach force 17 on the Beaufort scale as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) forecast that the storm would make landfall there. Force 17 wind with speeds of 56.1 to 61.2 meters per second, the highest number on the Beaufort scale, rarely occur and could cause serious damage. Krathon could be the second typhoon to land in southwestern Taiwan, following typhoon Elsie in 1996, CWA records showed. As of 8pm yesterday, the typhoon’s center was 180km
STILL DANGEROUS: The typhoon was expected to weaken, but it would still maintain its structure, with high winds and heavy rain, the weather agency said One person had died amid heavy winds and rain brought by Typhoon Krathon, while 70 were injured and two people were unaccounted for, the Central Emergency Operation Center said yesterday, while work and classes have been canceled nationwide today for the second day. The Hualien County Fire Department said that a man in his 70s had fallen to his death at about 11am on Tuesday while trimming a tree at his home in Shoufeng Township (壽豐). Meanwhile, the Yunlin County Fire Department received a report of a person falling into the sea at about 1pm on Tuesday, but had to suspend search-and-rescue
RULES BROKEN: The MAC warned Chinese not to say anything that would be harmful to the autonomous status of Taiwan or undermine its sovereignty A Chinese couple accused of disrupting a pro-democracy event in Taipei organized by Hong Kong residents has been deported, the National Immigration Agency said in a statement yesterday afternoon. A Chinese man, surnamed Yao (姚), and his wife were escorted by immigration officials to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, where they boarded a flight to China before noon yesterday, the agency said. The agency said that it had annulled the couple’s entry permits, citing alleged contraventions of the Regulations Governing the Approval of Entry of People of the Mainland Area into the Taiwan Area (大陸地區人民進入台灣地區許可辦法). The couple applied to visit a family member in
CELEBRATION: The PRC turned 75 on Oct. 1, but the Republic of China is older. The PRC could never be the homeland of the people of the ROC, Lai said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) could not be the “motherland” of the people of the Republic of China (ROC), President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday. Lai made the remarks in a speech at a Double Ten National Day gala in Taipei, which is part of National Day celebrations that are to culminate in a fireworks display in Yunlin County on Thursday night next week. Lai wished the country a happy birthday and called on attendees to enjoy the performances and activities while keeping in mind that the ROC is a sovereign and independent nation. He appealed for everyone to always love their
RSS