The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said expired ingredients were found in the kitchen of a private junior-high and elementary school in Taoyuan. Separately, 70kg of a cheese product that was sold at Costco and was found to contain ethylene oxide has been recalled.
FDA Central Center Director Chen Tzu-ling (陳姿伶) said an inspection on school lunch preparation areas on campuses and in catering companies was conducted between Feb. 13 and June 30, and 1,515 food preparation areas and catering companies, and 1,807 food items were inspected.
The flaws found at the food preparation areas and catering companies mainly include dirty or damaged ceilings, windows, floors, fans and equipment, and poor vector control, but they have improved the problems and passed the reinspection, Chen said.
Photo courtesy of the Department of Public Health, Taoyuan
The kitchen of a private junior-high and elementary school in Taoyuan was found with three expired ingredients in it, therefore a NT$60,000 (US$1,879) fine has been imposed, Chen said.
A jar of fermented wax gourd with excessive levels of preservatives was found in an elementary school in Yilan County, and a fine of NT$30,000 has been imposed on the manufacturer of the product, located in Kaohsiung.
FDA Southern Center Director Wei Jen-ting (魏任廷) said four catering companies providing school meals were also found to have expired food ingredients, and a total fine of NT$300,000 has been imposed.
CHEESE RECALLED
Meanwhile, after Costco Taiwan last month was fined NT$720,000 for ethylene oxide residue found in an imported cheese product and was ordered to recall it, the FDA last week ordered the company to recall another batch of packaged assorted cheese slices by US dairy product vendor Sonoma Creamery, as the same chemical was detected in the product at a border inspection.
FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) yesterday said 70.296kg of product had been recalled as of Monday, and border inspection on cheese products imported by Costco has been tightened to 100 percent, and if three batches fail the inspection within six months, Costco is required to provide an explanation.
In other news, a local Chinese-language media outlet yesterday reported that a vendor at a traditional wholesale market in New Taipei City’s Lujhou District (蘆洲) was found selling mutton much cheaper than other vendors, but the media outlet sent samples for testing to find it contained pork.
FDA Northern Center Interim Director Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘) said the New Taipei City Department of Health sent its investigators to the market on Tuesday, and the vendor was found to be selling mutton, pork and beef on site.
The health department has collected specimens of the vendor’s semi-finished products and mutton slices for hotpot for further examination, Lin said.
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