Taipei City’s Department of Health yesterday said 15 iced beverages and frozen products, including some sold at popular chain stores, had failed its bacteria inspections.
A total of 189 iced beverages and frozen products were tested for Escherichia coli bacteria and aerobic plate counts — an indicator of bacterial populations — and 56 products failed the hygiene test, the department’s Food and Drugs Division Director Wang Ming-li (王明理) said.
Of the 56 products, 15 failed a second test after beverage producers were given a statutory period to make improvements, she said, adding that the failure rate is 7.1 percent.
The failed products include those produced by chain beverage and food stores: Yifang Taiwan Fruit Tea’s (一芳台灣水果茶) pouchong grean tea, Rabbit Rabbit Tea’s buckwheat green and Assam milk teas; Ice Monster’s mango shaved ice; and chain fast food store T.K.K. Fried Chicken’s (頂呱呱) jasmine green tea.
Wang said the companies will be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$3 million (US$993 and US$99,250) in accordance with the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), and the products were ordered off the shelves.
The department said excessive levels of Escherichia coli or plate counts do not necessarily cause illness, but they indicate poor hygiene, so it urged the stores to put more emphasis on self-management, such as paying attention to product quality and hygiene, as well as personal hygiene of workers.
It said people who have concerns about food safety and sanitation or consumer issues can call the 1999 hotline from Taipei, or dial (02)-2720-8889 if they reside elsewhere, and check the inspection results at the department’s Web site, http://health.gov.taipei/.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS