The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced regulations to manage the advertising and promotion of food that is inappropriate for children’s health.
Beginning next month, commercials advertising unhealthy food are to be prohibited from broadcasting on children’s channels between 5pm to 9pm, and unhealthy meals aimed at children be prohibited from offering free toys, based on the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), that was passed on Nov. 20 and is to be implemented on Jan. 1.
“Snacks, candies, beverages, frozen treats and fast-food” that contain “trans fats, saturated fats, sodium or added sugar” exceeding regulation standards will be targeted by the new regulation, the FDA said.
The regulation stipulates that trans fats should not exceed 30 percent of the total daily calorie intake, saturated fats should not exceed 10 percent the total daily calorie intake, sodium should not exceed 400mg per serving and added sugars should not exceed 10 percent the total daily calorie intake.
FDA official Chih Lan-hui (遲蘭慧) said the targeted food products are to be banned from “airing commercials between 5pm to 9pm on children’s channels” and “show signs of using these food to replace nutritious meals in their advertising.”
Advertising of food products considered unhealthy for children are allowed to be aired in time slots when children are less likely to be watching television or on other channels, such as news channels, less often watched by children alone, she said.
Chih said the regulated food products are no longer allowed to offer free toys, or use toys as rewards for attracting children.
Fast food chain McDonald’s has already changed its menu late last month in response to the regulations, and kids’ meals are now served with fruit or salad and juice or milk, instead of fries and soda, she said.
Violations of the act face a fine between NT$40,000 and NT$4 million, (US$1211 to US$121,193) the FDA said, adding it will ask health departments to supervise companies and increase inspections when the regulation comes into effect.
Organizing one national referendum and 26 recall elections targeting Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators could cost NT$1.62 billion (US$55.38 million), the Central Election Commission said yesterday. The cost of each recall vote ranges from NT$16 million to NT$20 million, while that of a national referendum is NT$1.1 billion, the commission said. Based on the higher estimate of NT$20 million per recall vote, if all 26 confirmed recall votes against KMT legislators are taken into consideration, along with the national referendum on restarting the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant, the total could be as much as NT$1.62 billion, it said. The commission previously announced
Restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to be included in the Michelin Guide’s review for the first time this year, alongside existing entries from Taipei, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung, the France-based culinary publication said yesterday. This year’s edition of the Michelin Guide Taiwan is to be unveiled on Aug. 19 in Taipei. In addition to the coveted star ratings, Michelin Taiwan would announce its “Bib Gourmand” selections — a distinction awarded to establishments offering high-quality food at moderate prices — on Aug. 12. This year’s Bib Gourmand list would also feature restaurants in New Taipei City, Hsinchu
A firefighter yesterday died after falling into New Taipei City's Xindian River when a rescue dinghy capsized during a search mission for a man who was later found dead. The New Taipei City Fire Department said that it received a report at 4:12pm that a 50-year-old man, surnamed Chen (陳), had fallen into the river. A 32-year-old firefighter, surnamed Wu (吳), was among the rescuers deployed to look for Chen, the fire department said, adding that he and five other rescue personnel were in the dinghy when it capsized. Wu had no vital signs after being pulled from the water to the
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday welcomed NATO Secretary-General Mark Rutte’s remarks that the organization’s cooperation with Indo-Pacific partners must be deepened to deter potential threats from China and Russia. Rutte on Wednesday in Berlin met German Chancellor Friedrich Merz ahead of a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of Germany’s accession to NATO. He told a post-meeting news conference that China is rapidly building up its armed forces, and the number of vessels in its navy outnumbers those of the US Navy. “They will have another 100 ships sailing by 2030. They now have 1,000 nuclear warheads,” Rutte said, adding that such
RSS