A random inspection found that six out of 13 food items sold at snack bars or food stalls contained genetically modified organism (GMO) ingredients, the Consumers’ Foundation said.
Many Taiwanese are used to eating at snack bars or food stalls, and while the owners of such establishments claim to use non-GMO ingredients, such ingredients are often still found in food products, foundation chairman Alan Lu (陸雲) said.
A random inspection conducted by the foundation in July discovered that six items — braised dried tofu, dried tofu, tofu skin, tofu, corn starch and tapioca balls — contained GMO ingredients.
Some owners were upset about the findings, because they paid a premium for ingredients they were told were non-GMO, the foundation said.
While selling foods with GMO ingredients is not against the law, the foundation urged the government to clarify regulations to ensure that consumers are provided with transparent choices.
As growing GMO soy beans is prohibited in Taiwan, the approximately 200 tonnes of soy beans produced domestically each year should be non-GMO, the foundation said, but added that of the nearly 2.5 million tonnes of soy beans imported yearly, only about 70,000 tonnes, or about 2.8 percent, are non-GMO.
Due to the wide divergence between the amount of non-GMO and GMO soy beans, claims of products being made with non-GMO ingredients are hard to believe, the foundation said, adding that the government should keep track of non-GMO soy beans to ensure transparency from the source.
It also urged the government to differentiate controls on soy beans used in food and nonfood products, develop better methods to screen for GMO foods and refer to the standards of the Non-GMO Project, a US-based nonprofit organization.
The Food and Drug Administration said regulations require registered food companies to place a “GM” (genetically modified) logo on their products if GMO ingredients exceed 3 percent of the total, adding that failure to do so could incur fines of between NT$30,000 and NT$3 million (US$953 and US$95,299).
While some snack bars or food stalls are not registered and might be more difficult to regulate, the agency said they should still abide by the regulation, adding that those that falsely claim to sell non-GMO food would also face the same penalties.
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