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.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) is maintaining close ties with Beijing, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said yesterday, hours after a new round of Chinese military drills in the Taiwan Strait began. Political parties in a democracy have a responsibility to be loyal to the nation and defend its sovereignty, DPP spokesman Justin Wu (吳崢) told a news conference in Taipei. His comments came hours after Beijing announced via Chinese state media that the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s Eastern Theater Command was holding large-scale drills simulating a multi-pronged attack on Taiwan. Contrary to the KMT’s claims that it is staunchly anti-communist, KMT Deputy
RESPONSE: The government would investigate incidents of Taiwanese entertainers in China promoting CCP propaganda online in contravention of the law, the source said Taiwanese entertainers living in China who are found to have contravened cross-strait regulations or collaborated with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) could be subject to fines, a source said on Sunday. Several Taiwanese entertainers have posted on the social media platform Sina Weibo saying that Taiwan “must be returned” to China, and sharing news articles from Chinese state media. In response, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) has asked the Ministry of Culture to investigate whether the entertainers had contravened any laws, and asked for them to be questioned upon their return to Taiwan, an official familiar with the matter said. To curb repeated
Myanmar has turned down an offer of assistance from Taiwanese search-and-rescue teams after a magnitude 7.7 earthquake struck the nation on Friday last week, saying other international aid is sufficient, the National Fire Agency said yesterday. More than 1,700 have been killed and 3,400 injured in the quake that struck near the central Myanmar city of Mandalay early on Friday afternoon, followed minutes later by a magnitude 6.7 aftershock. Worldwide, 13 international search-and-rescue teams have been deployed, with another 13 teams mobilizing, the agency said. Taiwan’s search-and-rescue teams were on standby, but have since been told to stand down, as