Foreign manufacturers of a food import flagged for a serious safety infraction would be from tomorrow at the earliest banned from exporting to Taiwan on the first offense, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday, amid a spike in food products from China failing border inspections.
Current regulations require several stages of testing according to risk level, with a ban only implemented if conditions are not improved after warnings.
The zero-tolerance policy announced this week is the strictest import food safety standard the FDA has ever initiated.
Photo courtesy of Chiayi City Public Health Bureau
It comes amid an increase in food imports flagged as having traces of seriously harmful additives, particularly from China.
Of particular concern are chili powder imports with traces of Sudan III, a red industrial dye banned from use in food processing that is classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a Category 3 carcinogen.
Earlier this week, prosecutors questioned nine employees implicated in a chili powder case discovered last month, with the Yunlin District Court on Tuesday approving the detention of one employee suspected of falsifying a safety report to cover up the presence of Sudan III.
A Yunlin District Prosecutors’ Office spokesperson said the head of research and development at spice vendor Chiseng Hong Ltd (濟生), a man surnamed Kuo (郭), has been ordered to be detained, while a subordinate, a woman surnamed Kuo, has been released on NT$50,000 bail.
The two are suspected of contravening the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法) by falsifying a report on a seasoning powder from quality testing company SGS Taiwan (SGS台灣), saying it did not contain Sudan III.
The employees allegedly falsified the report to prevent the product’s clients, including retailer PX Mart Co (全聯實業), from thinking the product was not safe.
The seasoning was sourced from New Taipei City-based raw material dealer Bao Hsin Enterprises Co (保欣企業) and supplied by Chinese company Sanhe Drug Co (三禾藥業).
The case of Sudan dyes came to light when the Chiseng product was tested by Yunlin County health authorities on Jan. 30.
The discovery led to random inspections that have so far found four batches of problematic chili powder supplied by Bao Hsin, the FDA said, adding that 21,235kg of the powder had been recalled as of Monday.
The agency’s latest announcement of flagged imports on Tuesday showed another batch of chili powder, mushroom seasoning and dried bitter melon from China with excessive pesticide levels.
Additional reporting by CNA
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