At today's Cabinet meeting, Premier Jiang Yi-huah asked all relevant agencies to prioritize food safety in their policies, establish comprehensive monitoring mechanisms and thoroughly review all food accreditation systems.
"Food safety issues have taken their toll on society as well as the public's trust in the government, so each ministry and department relevant to food safety must leave no stone unturned to put a stop to similar incidents," Jiang said.
To address the recent string of illicitly adulterated cooking oil products, Vice Premier Mao Chi-kuo has been vested with building a cross-ministry collaboration platform and Minister without Portfolio Chang San-cheng with leading a food safety taskforce. These initiatives have already made progress in strengthening food safety, said the premier, who thanked the administration for its hard work.
"Laboratory testing alone may not be able to detect all food safety breaches, so on-site inspections in factories are essential. Central and local authorities had not fully implemented them in the past, however," Jiang indicated. "The Act Governing Food Sanitation, which was amended this June, provides a clear legal basis for such investigations."
The premier asked ministries and departments to inform all their personnel about the law and encourage them to conduct inspections and ask for prosecutorial assistance if necessary.
"All agencies must approach the problem from the public's perspective and promptly update lists of certified and faulty cooking oil products to keep consumers informed and set them at ease," he emphasized, directing the Ministry of Health of Welfare to see that this measure is strictly enforced.
The premier also urged agencies to stay on high alert over food safety and not to wait until news breaks to take action.