Following incidents of botulism suspected to have been caused by consuming dried beancurd and related products, the Consumers’ Foundation yesterday accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of not doing an adequate job regulating the packaged food industry.
Foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) yesterday said that nine incidents of botulism poisoning with one fatality to date proved the FDA is “seriously incompetent” at managing and regulating food safety.
The watchdog said victims of twoof botulism incidents on April 11 and May 16 had consumed dried beancurd and other packaged food produced by Cheng Hsiang Foods in Taoyuan County.
However, health officials said on Sunday that samples from three types of food products suspected of causing botulism tested negative for the botulinum toxin after an initial round of laboratory tests.
“The authorities should immediately and proactively reassess every step of the production process for vacuum-packaged, ready-to-eat food products in the country,” Hsieh said.
He urged FDA officials to step up efforts to regulate logistics and sales processes, as well as inspect expiration date labeling and notices to consumers on refrigerating and processing the food.
The dried beancurd involved in the latest case was the same product involved in a case of botulism last month in which a woman died and another became seriously ill after consuming dried beancurd and preserved oysters.
Botulism is caused by a nerve toxin produced by the clostridium botulinum bacteria.
On Sunday, health authorities recalled more than 2,200 packs of dried beancurd and other soybean foodstuffs made by Cheng Hsiang.
Cheng Hsiang’s facilities and products have been under investigation by health authorities since a woman and her mother-in-law were allegedly poisoned after consuming products made by the company.
The FDA said many factors could have caused the laboratory tests to come up negative for the toxin despite several cases of food poisoning.
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