The Ministry of Agriculture is planning to implement new registration, traceability and labeling measures for oysters by the end of next year, Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said yesterday.
Vietnamese and Chinese oysters are being smuggled into Taiwan and sold as Taiwanese oysters, Chen said at a news conference for a sustainable seafood event.
Chinese oysters are first smuggled into the outlying islands of Kinmen and Matsu, and then transferred to Taiwan proper, Chen said.
Photo: Yang Chin-cheng, Taipei Times
Although Taiwan does not permit the import of Chinese oysters, some businesses continue to smuggle them in, making huge profits while ignoring food safety risks, he said.
The Chinese oysters are not inspected and could contain large amounts of heavy metals due to the heavy pollution in Chinese coastal waters, he added.
The ministry is cooperating with local governments to implement oyster farming registration on the islands to address the issue, Chen said, adding that they would also promote the reporting of oyster seed stocking volumes to ensure that oysters are locally produced.
The ministry has decided to implement an origin labeling and traceability system for oysters produced in Taiwan by the end of next year, shortened from an original three-year timeline, he said.
Plans would be put in place to include oysters in the same product regulations governing Taiwanese tea, he added.
The Fisheries Research Institute’s technology can already distinguish between Vietnamese oysters and Taiwanese oysters, but as Taiwanese and Chinese oysters are produced in a similar environment, the identification technology needs to be improved, Chen said.
The ministry also plans to implement farming registration procedures for other key agricultural products, and farmers seeking disaster relief assistance or government subsidies would have to comply with registration requirements, Chen said.
Starting next year, the ministry plans to systematically enforce policies to ensure a balance between production and marketing of agricultural products, he said.
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