The Executive Yuan held a Straight Talk teatime event this afternoon for foreign press correspondents to speak with government officials about progress in strengthening Taiwan's food safety regime.
The Yuan's Spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun, who hosted the event, said that ripples from the recent string of cooking oil scandals continue to spread and that the matter has drawn considerable attention from international media. The teatime event was therefore specially organized to explain the government's response measures to the foreign press.
Vice Minister of Health and Welfare Shiu Ming-neng said that his ministry has reviewed the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation and proposed amendments for the legislature's approval. The ministry also rolled out several important measures, requiring edible oil manufacturers or importers to register with a government food enterprise database, improving the food traceability system, stiffening fines for violators, and implementing the three-tier quality control system (self-inspection by the businesses, third-party inspections and government spot checks and review), among others.
Shiu pointed out that all food additives manufacturers and importers had registered in the food enterprise database by May 1 this year, and that factories, businesses or companies registered with the government as edible oil manufacturers and importers had also been added to the database by October 31. On October 27, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced nine categories of food businesses that must establish their own food traceability systems, including edible oil businesses, which were required to begin complying by October 31.
Deputy Minister of Environmental Protection Yeh Shin-cheng reported that local environmental protection authorities had completed the first round of inspections on night markets, vendors and waste oil collectors on October 15. The Environmental Protection Administration is urging local authorities to bring individual waste oil collectors under regulatory control by helping them apply for business licenses or form industry alliances before December 31.
Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin said that the state-run oil refiner CPC Corp. has conducted research on converting waste edible oil into fuel oil through a process called transesterification. This method is able to treat approximately 70,000 metric tons of waste cooking oil produced in Taiwan annually and help keep the wastes out of the hands of unscrupulous food manufacturers.
Shen said the MOEA launched a separate system on October 31 to regulate imported oils, requiring 89 types of foreign oil products receive approval from the appropriate authority before being imported. Also, new food factories registered on or after November 4 have been restricted to food products only and may not engage in the manufacturing or processing of non-food products.
Shen estimates that the substandard oil problem will cost Taiwan's food industry NT$17.7 billion (US$590 million) in business revenue this year, including NT$6.38 billion (US$212.7 million) from food exports, or 7.5 percent of total food exports. Since the start of the oil scare, 11 countries have pulled Taiwan's food products from store shelves or have restricted or blocked the items from entering their borders altogether.
To restore Taiwan's reputation as a quality food nation, the MOEA has instructed its overseas offices to clearly communicate Taiwan's response actions to foreign governments and to invite reputable Taiwanese companies to international food exhibitions.
Responding to journalists, Spokesperson Sun said this latest food safety incident differs from past ones in that it involves more than one or two manufacturers. And considering the wide impact of cooking oils on people's health, it will be difficult to restore consumer confidence in a short period of time.
Nevertheless, the central government will not shy away from the problem but is determined to systematically and thoroughly reform the entire food safety process, starting at the source. Government agencies are also committed to their roles in the effort and will continue striving to improve food safety and public confidence.