As much as 95 percent of the public cannot tell fresh food from spoiled food, Taipei Medical University Hospital (TMUH) said yesterday, adding that to avoid tossing out good food or getting food poisoning from bad food, people should not hoard food in their refrigerators.
Chief nutritionist at TMUH Su Hsiu-yueh (蘇秀悅) told a press conference that “2.6 million people in this country have suffered from diarrhea in the past year, so it is very important that Taiwanese know how to keep their food fresh.”
“Many people mistakenly think that putting food in the fridge stops germs from multiplying, when in fact the low temperature only slows down germ proliferation,” Su said.
Improper storage also increases the rate of spoilage in refrigerated food, Su said.
“Sixty percent of people shove their food into the fridge directly in its original packaging, which leads to cross-contamination,” Su said, citing a survey the hospital conducted with 636 respondents.
“To keep food fresh ... keep it in air-tight containers,” she said.
Most people aren’t sure when the foods in their fridge go bad, Su said.
“Seventy-five percent of people rely on visual examination to tell if food is okay to eat, while another 18 percent decide whether food is spoiled by the smell. In reality, most foods don’t keep more than a week in the fridge,” Su said.
Cooked foods and fresh seafood can only be kept for two days, poultry and fruits can last three, and pork, beef and juices can stay fresh for up to six days, Su said.
Su said that buying food in smaller quantities would help reduce unnecessary waste, as 92 percent of survey respondents reported tossing out food.
Each family throws out an average of NT$66 of food per week, which adds up to NT$25.8 billion per year nationwide, Su said.
“Most people throw out these foods to avoid health hazards. But if it were eaten while still fresh, the amount of food thrown away could provide lunches for 223,000 elementary school students for 20 years,” she said.
Taiwan is to receive the first batch of Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 70 jets from the US late this month, a defense official said yesterday, after a year-long delay due to a logjam in US arms deliveries. Completing the NT$247.2 billion (US$7.69 billion) arms deal for 66 jets would make Taiwan the third nation in the world to receive factory-fresh advanced fighter jets of the same make and model, following Bahrain and Slovakia, the official said on condition of anonymity. F-16 Block 70/72 are newly manufactured F-16 jets built by Lockheed Martin to the standards of the F-16V upgrade package. Republic of China
Taiwan-Japan Travel Passes are available for use on public transit networks in the two countries, Taoyuan Metro Corp said yesterday, adding that discounts of up to 7 percent are available. Taoyuan Metro, the Taipei MRT and Japan’s Keisei Electric Railway teamed up to develop the pass. Taoyuan Metro operates the Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport MRT Line, while Keisei Electric Railway offers express services between Tokyo’s Narita Airport, and the Keisei Ueno and Nippori stations in the Japanese capital, as well as between Narita and Haneda airports. The basic package comprises one one-way ticket on the Taoyuan MRT Line and one Skyliner ticket on
Many Japanese couples are coming to Taiwan to obtain donated sperm or eggs for fertility treatment due to conservatism in their home country, Taiwan’s high standards and low costs, doctors said. One in every six couples in Japan is receiving infertility treatment, Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare data show. About 70,000 children are born in Japan every year through in vitro fertilization (IVF), or about one in every 11 children born. Few people accept donated reproductive cells in Japan due to a lack of clear regulations, leaving treatment in a “gray zone,” Taichung Nuwa Fertility Center medical director Wang Huai-ling (王懷麟)
PROXIMITY: Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location, the Executive Yuan official said Taiwan plans to boost cooperation with the Czech Republic in semiconductor development due to Prague’s pivotal role in the European IC industry, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said. With Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) building a wafer fab in the German city of Dresden, a Germany-Czech Republic-Poland “silicon triangle” is forming, Kung said in a media interview on the weekend after returning from a visit to Prague. “Prague is closer to Dresden than Berlin is, so Taiwanese firms are expected to take advantage of the Czech capital’s location,” he said. “Taiwan and Prague have already launched direct flights and it is
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