The Department of Health’s (DOH) regulatory change on acceptable melamine levels drew criticism from the Consumer Protection Commission as well as pan-green and pan-blue lawmakers.
The DOH contradicted itself on Wednesday by announcing that the highest permissible concentration of melamine in raw materials and processed foods is to be 2.5 parts per million (ppm), rather than zero ppm as it had announced on Tuesday.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
The sudden increase in the permissible amount of melamine in food forced supermarkets to put some of the products they had taken down back up on the shelves starting Wednesday night.
“We hope the DOH gives us clear directions on what products can be on the shelves, and what should be removed. Otherwise local government officials, manufacturers and consumers will all be confused,” Taipei City’s consumer protection ombudsman Chen Po-ching (陳柏菁) said.
Chen led inspectors yesterday morning in making a selective examination on instant coffee, milk tea and creamer in liquid and powder form in four supermarkets in Xinyi District (信義).
While workers at branches of Matsusei Supermarket and Wellcome Supermarket were scrambling to remove problematic products from their shelves as the inspectors visited, Chen urged the DOH to compile a list of products that are allowed to be on the shelves.
“The DOH keeps changing its standards ... and it makes it hard for local inspectors to follow their rules,” Chen said during the inspection.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators also lashed out at the DOH for mismanaging the milk contamination crisis.
“The whole thing is a mess,” KMT Legislator Lin Yu-fang (林郁方) said when asked for comment.
The overnight change in the DOH’s policy on melamine has the public wondering whether the government is trying to protect specific businesses, he said, adding that the change of policy had made the nation “a laughingstock in the world.”
“The government should apologize to the people for making the mistake. This is what a responsible government should do,” KMT caucus secretary-general Chang Sho-wen (張碩文) said when approached for comment.
At a separate setting, DPP Legislator Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), who is a physician, said that the standard regulation on melamine for mash and milk powder is 2ppm in China and 1ppm in Hong Kong.
“Is the DOH suggesting with the new regulation Taiwanese people’s health is less important than animals in China?” Twu asked.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY FLORA WANG AND JIMMY CHUANG
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