A well-known Taiwanese peanut butter brand has been ordered to temporarily halt production and recall its products after they were found to contain excessive amounts of aflatoxins.
Two batches of Hsinchu Fu Yuan chunky peanut butter (新竹福源顆粒花生醬) expiring on July 9 and Aug. 27 have been recalled after tests by the Taipei and Taoyuan public health departments found they contained high amounts of aflatoxins, the Hsinchu Bureau of Health said on Tuesday.
A third batch expiring on Sept. 10 also failed aflatoxin tests, the bureau said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Health
The firm has been ordered to recall all products from the batches that failed testing and provide customers with a way to return or exchange the products, it said.
Fu Yuan would be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$200 million (US$2,019 and US$6.73 million) for contravening the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), it added.
The batch expiring on July 9 consists of about 800 jars, 677 of which were sold and 123 of which have been recalled, a health official said yesterday.
The batch expiring on Aug. 27 consists of about 770 jars, 593 of which were sold and 177 of which have been recalled, the official said.
The batch expiring on Sept. 10 consists of about 700 jars, and the volume sold and recalled is still being calculated, they said.
Fortune Foods Corp, which owns Fu Yuan, said it would remove the products from shelves immediately and cooperate with health department inspections.
It vowed to suspend the production and sale of Fu Yuan chunky peanut butter as required and resume production only after the product is deemed to be safe.
Partner organizations have been informed to remove any products that failed testing, it said.
Customers can call (03) 5328118 to exchange or return any suspicious products, it added.
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