Top Pot Bakery (胖達人), a well-known bakery chain that advertises that it uses natural ingredients, yesterday apologized for using flavoring essences in its baked goods and promised to pay refunds to customers after a Taipei City Government inspection of the ingredients used by the firm.
Swamped by reporters in front of one of the chain’s stores in Taipei, general manager Benson Hsu (徐志鴻) bowed to apologize for using artificial ingredients and said the company has pulled 21 baked products off its shelves.
He said stores would refund customers with receipts.
Photo: CNA
“We apologize for misleading customers [with the advertisements]. However, the ingredients we used are edible flavoring essences and are not a danger to health,” he said.
While acknowledging that the firm used artificial ingredients in its products, Hsu blamed a supplier for claiming that the ingredients were natural and said the company would consider filing a lawsuit against the supplier.
The bakery became popular after it opened its first store last year, appealing to those wishing to eat only natural ingredients. Promotions by celebrities such as Dee Hsu (徐熙娣, better known as Little S), drew crowds to the stores.
The controversy over the ingredients used at the bakery chain began earlier this week when a Hong Kong blogger posted an article accusing the chain of lying to customers because it had used artificial ingredients in its products.
Taipei’s Department of Health inspected the bakery’s Zhongxiao Store on Thursday night and discovered nine edible flavoring essences, including blueberry and chocolate, in the factory on the second floor.
MISLEADING CUSTOMERS
Taipei Food and Drug Office official Chiu Hsiu-yi (邱秀儀) said using edible artificial ingredients in the bakery did not violate regulations, but that the bakery had violated articles 28 and 45 of the Food Sanitation Act (食品衛生管理法) for running deceptive and misleading advertisements, which could lead to a fine of up to NT$200,000 (US$6,685).
Taipei’s Department of Health later yesterday fined the bakery NT$180,000 for violating the Food Sanitation Act.
Taipei Department of Legal Affairs Commissioner Tsai Li-wen (蔡立文) said the bakery had also violated the Fair Trade Act (公平交易法) and the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法) by failing to ensure that the products were produced as advertised. The bakery could face a fine of up to NT$25 million if it fails to correct the situation, Tsai said.
Taipei City Ombudsman Pan Hung-cheng (潘宏政) said the city government has asked the bakery to pay full refunds to customers with receipts.
Hsu said the company would follow the city government’s instructions and announce its refund policy after negotiations with the city government to be held next week.
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
Democratic Progressive Party caucus chief executive Rosalia Wu, front, grabs the pennant in a dragon boat race hosted by Qu Yuan Temple in the Shuanghsi River in Taipei’s Beitou District yesterday.
RSS