People planning to travel to Japan were warned yesterday to steer clear of China-produced caviar sold there that has been mislabeled as originating from Russia.
Liu Ching-fang (
WARNING
Liu's warning came after the economic division of the Taiwan representative office in Japan notified the commission that two Japanese department store chains -- Seibu Department Stores and SOGO Department Store Co -- were found on Feb. 7 to be selling Chinese-produced caviar which was labeled as coming from Russia.
Seibu and SOGO had reportedly delivered bottles of the mislabeled caviar as year-end gifts to some 300 people across Japan between Nov. 1 and Dec. 31.
The two department stores did not check the origin of the caviar, sourced by the Millennium Retailing Group.
COMPLAINTS
So far, 270 Japanese consumers have asked to have the product replaced, complaining about the taste.
The Millennium Retailing Group has made detailed reports to Japan's Fair Trade Commission and offered an apology to Japanese consumers, Liu said.
Although the caviar is not sold in Taiwan, and there have not been any indications that eating the China-made caviar could endanger one's health, Liu said the commission still saw fit to warn local travelers about the situation.
DUMPLINGS
In related news, officials from the Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday that a brand of frozen Chinese dumplings removed from the shelves of Taipei's Pacific SOGO Department Store last month was found to be free of pesticides.
The department said the distributor would still be fined, however, because the dumplings were labeled as made in Japan.
The dumplings were removed from the SOGO Department Store Zhongxiao branch in Taipei because they were the same brand as those that caused 2,000 Japanese to fall ill last month.
Taipei's health department said the dumplings removed from the retailer's shelves here had different lot numbers and expiration dates than the contaminated dumplings found in Japan, but their sale was still suspended as a precautionary measure.
The National Immigration Agency (NIA) said yesterday that it will revoke the dependent-based residence permit of a Chinese social media influencer who reportedly “openly advocated for [China’s] unification through military force” with Taiwan. The Chinese national, identified by her surname Liu (劉), will have her residence permit revoked in accordance with Article 14 of the “Measures for the permission of family- based residence, long-term residence and settlement of people from the Mainland Area in the Taiwan Area,” the NIA said in a news release. The agency explained it received reports that Liu made “unifying Taiwan through military force” statements on her online
A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck off Taitung County at 1:09pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 53km northeast of Taitung County Hall at a depth of 12.5km, CWA data showed. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Taitung County and Hualien County on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Nantou County, Chiayi County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung and Tainan, the data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage following the quake.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) is to begin his one-year alternative military service tomorrow amid ongoing legal issues, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. Wang, who last month was released on bail of NT$150,000 (US$4,561) as he faces charges of allegedly attempting to evade military service and forging documents, has been ordered to report to Taipei Railway Station at 9am tomorrow, the Alternative Military Service Training and Management Center said. The 33-year-old would join about 1,300 other conscripts in the 263rd cohort of general alternative service for training at the Chenggong Ling camp in Taichung, a center official told reporters. Wang would first
MINOR DISRUPTION: The outage affected check-in and security screening, while passport control was done manually and runway operations continued unaffected The main departure hall and other parts of Terminal 2 at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport lost power on Tuesday, causing confusion among passengers before electricity was fully restored more than an hour later. The outage, the cause of which is still being investigated, began at about midday and affected parts of Terminal 2, including the check-in gates, the security screening area and some duty-free shops. Parts of the terminal immediately activated backup power sources, while others remained dark until power was restored in some of the affected areas starting at 12:23pm. Power was fully restored at 1:13pm. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a