Control Yuan member Cheng Jen-hung (程仁宏) said yesterday he might seek an investigation into the manufacture of pig blood cake (豬血糕) after media reports said the snack had been banned in the US.
Local television stations and newspapers cited unnamed sources in Los Angeles County as saying the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) had banned sales of the food, which is made of pig’s blood and sticky rice.
The USDA Web site, however, did not include any information about the reported ban.
In Taiwan, pig blood cake is usually eaten as a steamed snack — served on a wooden stick — or cooked in a hot pot.
Cheng, a former Consumers’ Foundation chairman, said there were also public worries in Taiwan over hygiene issues. He said people were concerned the food could go bad while being produced at room temperature or become contaminated in small or traditional factories.
He said that many people outside Taiwan only learned of the dish after it was voted one of the world’s 10 most unusual foods in a British Web site poll last year.
The reported US ban on the sale of pig blood cake could lead other developed countries to follow suit, he said, adding that it “would be a big blow for the traditional snack.”
Cheng said that he did not rule out applying to the Control Yuan to conduct an investigation into whether local authorities have been sufficiently diligent in ensuring local manufacturers maintain the highest standards.
At a separate setting yesterday, Lucifer Chu (朱學恆), who previously created a YouTube video promoting Taiwan’s pig blood cake, yesterday said that he will post a video protest on the site if the US does not lift the reported ban on the traditional Taiwanese food.
“Will the US also ban German blood sausage and British black pudding?” said Chu, who produced a bilingual video showing himself and other people eating pig blood cake coated with peanut powder and coriander leaves.
Chu said if the ban is maintained, he will make another video protesting what he called “cultural discrimination” by the US.
One of the local producers of pig blood cake, Lee Chien-liang, said the entire process is carried out in low-temperature, sanitary conditions. There is no contamination of the blood during the process, he added.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
RSS