South Korean YouTuber Kim Jin-young, better known by her handle “ggu_Kim,” yesterday apologized on Facebook for her kimchi products containing the sweetener sodium saccharin, and said the products would be recalled and customers would be fully refunded.
The Taipei Department of Health launched an inspection yesterday and has delivered samples to a laboratory for analysis, official Chen Yi-ting (陳怡婷) said.
If found to contain substances that contravene the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), the manufacturer with which Kim collaborates could face a fine of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million (US$976 to US$97,640), she said.
Photo: screen grab from Kim’s Instagram
Chen said the Taipei City Government has asked the New Taipei City Government to inspect materials and manufacturing processes at the factory that produces the products.
While sodium saccharin is a legal food additive, it is only approved for use in plum powder, sugar substitutes and other products, and should not be used to make kimchi, she said.
Kim’s statement said that the manufacturer has admitted it had added sugar containing sodium saccharin to two of the brand’s products since April 6 without telling the YouTuber.
Kim said not only is she complying with the investigation, but also stopping sales and recalling the products.
The statement said that the brand had asked the manufacturer to provide details of the manufacturing process.
Yen Tsung-hai (顏宗海) of the department of clinical toxicology at Changgung Memorial Hospital’s Linkou (林口) branch said that saccharin and sodium saccharin are approved additives, but its sweetness is 300 to 500 times that of sugar refined from sugarcane.
In related news, a Taipei beef noodle shop where an employee was filmed wringing a dirty rag into a cooking pot has been fined NT$30,000 for not having product liability insurance, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday.
The department said the shop received the fine following inspections of its two stores in Taipei’s Beitou District (北投) on Monday and Tuesday.
The popular beef noodle restaurant came under the spotlight after a deliveryman posted a video on the Internet on Sunday showing an employee wringing out a used rag into a pot of water used to cook noodles.
Faced with a torrent of criticism, the restaurant owner, surnamed Hsu (許), apologized for the incident in a statement on Monday.
Hsu said the incident was caused by the negligence of the employee in question, adding that the shop is temporarily closed to improve employee education and training.
Health inspectors subsequently issued the store a warning after finding it had breached food safety standards.
The store would be subject to periodic on-site inspections once it resumes operations, the department said, adding that should a similar incident reoccur it could be fined NT$60,000 to NT$200 million under food safety and sanitation regulations.
Additional reporting by Tung Kuan-yi and CNA
The Ministry of Education (MOE) is to launch a new program to encourage international students to stay in Taiwan and explore job opportunities here after graduation, Deputy Minister of Education Yeh Ping-cheng (葉丙成) said on Friday. The government would provide full scholarships for international students to further their studies for two years in Taiwan, so those who want to pursue a master’s degree can consider applying for the program, he said. The fields included are science, technology, engineering, mathematics, semiconductors and finance, Yeh added. The program, called “Intense 2+2,” would also assist international students who completed the two years of further studies in
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) departed for Europe on Friday night, with planned stops in Lithuania and Denmark. Tsai arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Friday night, but did not speak to reporters before departing. Tsai wrote on social media later that the purpose of the trip was to reaffirm the commitment of Taiwanese to working with democratic allies to promote regional security and stability, upholding freedom and democracy, and defending their homeland. She also expressed hope that through joint efforts, Taiwan and Europe would continue to be partners building up economic resilience on the global stage. The former president was to first
Former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Monday called for greater cooperation between Taiwan, Lithuania and the EU to counter threats to information security, including attacks on undersea cables and other critical infrastructure. In a speech at Vilnius University in the Lithuanian capital, Tsai highlighted recent incidents in which vital undersea cables — essential for cross-border data transmission — were severed in the Taiwan Strait and the Baltic Sea over the past year. Taiwanese authorities suspect Chinese sabotage in the incidents near Taiwan’s waters, while EU leaders have said Russia is the likely culprit behind similar breaches in the Baltic. “Taiwan and our European
The Taipei District Court sentenced babysitters Liu Tsai-hsuan (劉彩萱) and Liu Jou-lin (劉若琳) to life and 18 years in prison respectively today for causing the death of a one-year-old boy in December 2023. The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said that Liu Tsai-hsuan was entrusted with the care of a one-year-old boy, nicknamed Kai Kai (剴剴), in August 2023 by the Child Welfare League Foundation. From Sept. 1 to Dec. 23 that year, she and her sister Liu Jou-lin allegedly committed acts of abuse against the boy, who was rushed to the hospital with severe injuries on Dec. 24, 2023, but did not
RSS