Taiwan's food scandals  ―    Biggest-ever food scare began 2011 till present  !        
         
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Taiwan

         poisonous for 20-30 years

Biggest-ever food scare began 2011 till present  !  

   
 

  China Times (Taiwan), 2024-3-7: A series of food safety controversies have clearly shown that the government responsible for food safety control are lazy and passive.  They not only allow problematic foods to flow into the market, but also refuse to admit their mistakes after making news. Now, even green chili powder has been found to contain Sudan III (蘇丹紅) .  The public's confidence on Taiwan food safety has collapsed. chinatimes.com/opinion/20240307004244-262101?chdtv

 

  United Daily 聯合報 (Taiwan), 2024-3-8: Sudan III food safety risk expanded to the entire Taiwan, affecting food industry chain.  This systematic event is the most serious food safety issue in recent years.  Taiwan's government - The food and Drug Admin. took a negative attitude, resulting in illegal businessmen took advantage of the loophole to import a huge amount of Sudan III  ... udn.com/news/story/121823/7816857?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub121823_pulldownmenu_v2

 

  United Daily 聯合報 (Taiwan), 2024-3-10:  Taiwan's government found out Sudan III already penetrated into food chain in 2018, and announced this to the public, but now they change the phrase to classify Sudan III as Class 3 carcinogens The premier stated Sudan III event has turned into individual cases earlier, but now he can not help but to admit this is a systematic issue. udn.com/news/story/7338/7820535?from=udn-catehotnews_ch2

 

  United Daily (Taiwan), 2024-2-7: The government remains inactive dampening public confidence in food safety   udn.com/news/story/7338/7759932?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7338_pulldownmenu_v2

  UDN 經濟日報 (Taiwan), 2024-2-28: Relevant food safety measures are obviously not in place. This Cimbuterol incident has once again exposed the lack of supporting domestic food safety measures and implementation capacity

 

  United Daily (Taiwan), 2024-2-24: Taiwanese government premier 陳建仁 dances around the question concerning Taiwan Sugar Corp.'s Ractopamine (瘦肉精) pork and Cimbuterol meat ; this "truthlessness" phenomenon has gradually become a major feature of the government - DPP lawmakers harbor government's mistakes and dirts.  udn.com/news/story/7338/7788866?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate   brief

 

  Global Times,  2023-6- globaltimes.cn/page/202306/1291967.shtml  the first agreement under the so-called “Initiative on 21st Century Trade” In terms of agricultural and livestock products, the so-called agreement does not mention any inspection and quarantine of agricultural and livestock products or food safety issues.   Instead, it facilitates entry process, which means more US farm and livestock products and processed foods will be dumped on the island, which will further harm food safety, the Labor Party said in the statement. “Why does the DPP authorities dare not make this clear to the entire island?”

 

DailyMail (UK), 2023-4-28:  Young Australian student on his dream overseas exchange program is fighting for his life in Taiwan after eating street food laced with rat poison.  He had been misdiagnosed in Taiwan with an immune disorder.  Alex is at the Taipei Medical University Hospital ...The medical services in Taiwan don't currently have the right treatments or drugs to stabilise his condition, Alex's condition has grown worse and he needs to be flown to the Royal Prince Albert Hospital in Sydney via a specialised medical flight retrieval service dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12023841/Toowoomba-student-exchange-Taiwan-fighting-life-eating-food-laced-rat-poison.html

 

  United Daily (Taiwan), 2023-10-6:  When it comes to imported Ractopamine pig (pork), the government has been always giving vague phrases or just denied.  Now the mysterious pork were eventually found  - 150 thousands kg US pork were labeled as British or Canadian pork and were distributed to local restaurants and stalls, almost all of which were eaten by Taiwanese people already ... some pork were even processed and mixed with mutton for sale, the public trust on food safety policy is collapsed!  udn.com/news/story/7338/7487885?from=udn_ch2_menu_v2_main_cate     chinatimes.com/opinion/20231005004589-262101?chdtv

 

  United Daily (Taiwan), 2023-9-24:  "Food Safety issues remain" (食安未解,民主停更) - Chicken eggs issue forces minister of Agriculture (農業部長陳吉仲) and president of Naif.org both to step down ...the most horrible thing is that the whistleblower has been threaten to shut his mouth up by harming his family members...  udn.com/news/story/7338/7460993?from=udn_ch2cate6643sub7338_pulldownmenu_v2

 

  United Daily (Taiwan), 2023-9-29:  We don't see the judiciary cracking down black-heart foods,  the prosecution and the investigation both are reduced to check political climate before taking legal action. (不見雷厲風行查黑心食品  檢調淪落到看政治風向辦案) vip.udn.com/vip/story/122367/7471373?from=udn-category

 

  Global Times,  2022-9-17 (globaltimes.cn/page/202209/1275446.shtml):

 DPP authority is sacrificing the people's interests for their political ends.   the Taiwan authorities detected Caesium-137 in the batch of konjaku jelly powder since the island in February relaxed a decade-long ban on imports of "nuclear food"  from Japan.   The Taiwan authorities also said that they were negotiating with related merchants to return the batch of food or destroy it.    This indicates two problems. First, the place of origin of some imported Japanese food may be faked to avoid being detected, which the authorities should keep alert about. Second, the authorities' frequency of detecting Japanese food is not high enough.

 

  New York Times, 2022-8-18: Taiwanese cuisine — layered, distinct, multiethnic ...has been shaped by many cultural forces, including the island's Indigenous tribes,  long-established groups of Fujianese and Hakka people; Japanese ;  Chinese immigrants in 1949+...   nytimes.com/2022/08/16/dining/taiwanese-cuisine.html

 

  Global Times,  2022-2-13 (globaltimes.cn/page/202202/1252141.shtml): DPP sacrifices Taiwan people’s interests by lifting ban on Japan‘nuclear food’ for political gain/  The Japan Times said that island's leader, Tsai Ing-wen, prioritized Japan-related food issues in trying to win Japan's support for Taiwan's entry into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).  Ironically, local media cited expert analyses as saying that much of the leaked radioactive material is still radioactive. 


72% oppose lifting the ban

67.7% believe DPP's radiation inspection standards are not effective
in regulating the "nuclear food"    

Source: Taiwan Yahoo news poll conducted between February 8 and February 11
 


the DPP actively paved the way for imports of the controversial pork to appease the US. ...Head of Taiwan's health authority:... as importing the pork could enhance Taiwan's "international status"...

 

Taiwan's food safety failed again and again,  Dioxin, Fipronil poison-eggs in last year, Nicarbazin illegal drug residue event in this year.   Average citizens are so poor as to eat eggs as their nutrition source, however, which is so risky!  Taiwan should feel shame at all these?

Europe was very cautious about Fipronil event, in contrast, Taiwan did nothing about it.   Even worse, Taiwan officials hide Nicarbazin issue from Taiwanese people to baby related business.

Looking back each food scare in all these years, the government's "action through inaction"  (「無為而治」) avoids taking firm action on food scandal.  In July 2018, the officials not only publicize no information to consumers, but also indulge business to retrieve problematic eggs and then resell them as promotion goods.

Taiwan's food safety slogan look great, but has null effect.

Why do high-ranking officials always fudge Taiwanese people's only, and humblest request ??   (brief)

●   The United Daily  (聯合報), 12-4-2018  opinion (editorial) :  food safety issues never end (未曾間斷的食安事件) ...

 

 

 

pic.: Taiwanese officials hide Nicarbazin illegal drug residue from consumers, indulged business to retrieve problematic eggs, and then resell them as promotion goods

    

●   The China Times, 5-21-2018 : Taiwan food safety became nothing but a slogan for the government's relaxation of pesticide residue standards in these 2 years, obviously, Taiwan adm. thinks Taiwanese people can "resist" pesticide better than Americans, Europeans and Japanese can do.   The United Daily, 5-21-2018: Taiwan government relaxed standards of pesticides to 200+ different kinds of agricultural goods, farm products  in 2017, extra 29 items were added in 2018.   TVBS 9-12-2017 : Scholar (中興univ.曾德賜) expressed the amount ( per hectare ) of application of pesticide in Taiwan was ranked world No.1 according to India's study, the US report showed about 30% of that are fake pesticides (偽農藥).  (news.tvbs.com.tw/fun/769011)     The United daily 12-26-2012,   ETtoday news 1-23-2013: The amount ( per hectare ) of application of pesticide in Taiwan was 5 times the average amount of that used in the entire world.  About 30% used in Taiwan are "fake pesticide" (偽農藥).    Some reports on the net (e.g., Life.tw 2-4-2017) : "fake pesticide" (特調農藥) is mixture of different kinds of pesticides so that each of them won't exceed the legal standard. (brief).

    

  Chang Gung Mem. Hospital professor T.H. Yen M.D. (顏宗海, Doctor, Univ. of London ): Minimize the times of dining out to protect your health ! ( ref. to book <食品不安全的年代如何自保>("how to survive in this bad food-security time", April 2016)) 

●   台視新聞 (TTV)  10-25-2018  12:23pm : Imported crabs (大閘蟹) found to contain excessive level  (6 times) of Dioxins perhaps were purchased (or used) by star-rated hotels of Taiwan already. 

United Daily News , 10-25-2018: Abbott received more than 600 complaints about six items of its Ensure having "結塊" issues in upper half year, but reported nothing to governmental system ("非預期反應通報系統").   It's a loophole of food safety. (brief)

MicroPlastics were found in 44% tap water samples, medical circle believes it's a very serious environmental pollution, since something bad, e.g., Dioxin, Bisphenol A (BPA), PAHs, heavy metal elements, may be brought into food chain, and then are/were accumulated in human body...... we better use purified water by RO machine for safety.  Furthermore, mussels, oysters, clams (扇貝與蛤) were also found some microplastics......  brief -  headlines of Apple Daily, United Daily, 9-26-2018.      Apple Daily, 9-6-2018: serious pollutions in many locations around Taiwan, Phenol may harm human health ...

  Apple Daily, 6-6-2018 : Taiwan's system ("雙證管制 double check by 2 certificates") to control Japanese high-radiation-area foods is failed, according to Apple Daily's random check-up.  ps - Apple Daily 11-20-2015 : food imported from Japan high-radiation area were hidden or covered / NTU professor  林鈺雄.

  Apple Daily, 4-25-2018 : Taiwan's food safety systems failed for gov. lab's intentionally throwing away test samples immediately after the tests.

      (方儉)https://tw.appledaily.com/headline/daily/20180425/37995680

●  Apple Daily, 11-20-2017 : Almost all world countries are more and more strict with food safety, only Taiwan is more and more relaxed in legislating for food safety.   In this way, how can Taiwan have a reputation on "fine food kingdom" ?  (breif)  /  by 邱致穎, chair, and teacher of food science, TungHai University. 

   The  limit-amount  (ppm, part per million) of pesticide  residue are restricted to in Taiwan is 1000 times that in Europe,  The "category 4" "toxic" chemical materials ("毒性"化學物質) containing plasticisers is renamed as "Concerned" chemical material("關注化學物質" )  / The China Times, Opinion <短評 "Taiwan is more toxic than before>, 4-21-2017    (rename-policy paused/ LTN 4-22-2017)

 Taiwan administration's Dioxin ("poison of the century") control system crashed completely / FTV news 4-22-2017 ;  FTV news, 5-18-2017: 13 ingredients / materials expired in a 5 star hotel in Taiwan;  CTI TV news (5-17-2017, 19:33): What can we eat in Taiwan? people are uneasy for food here...   


● 
Pollution in recent 12 yrs never end, Dioxin inside many people already over the limit probably, TW government has never done source-control, never stop contaminants (pollutant, e.g., plastic, inks from industry, fly-ash from incinerator, etc) going to our environment / Apple Daily, head-page, 4-22-201

  Apple Daily News (蘋果日報) 8-28-2015,  A2 Prime News Edition

          The incidence rate of Taiwanese people suffering colon/rectal cancer was ranked world No.1 (2nd is Korea, 3rd Slovakia) , Taipei Medical University Hospital's director of surgeons expressed Taiwan's food scandals constantly happened in recent years, many black-heart tainted foods containing Carcinogen (cancer producer) is a factor causing high incidence rate.

TTV (台視 2-11-2017  12:24pm) news reports: People dining out should be careful  not to eat food containing Borax, Sodium borate(硼砂),  fluorescent brightener(螢光增白劑), plasticisers (朔化劑), Rongalite (Sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate dihydrate 吊白塊  )...    deep-fried foods, plastic container, and pesticide residue may cause cancer.    

●  Apple Daily 11-20-2015: Taiwan food scandals is still flourishing and still in the ascendant, even the law was amended to increase punishment, major events include poisonous (Methyl yellow, chemical 二甲基黃 illegally added) dried bean curd, chemical-soak kelp, sea tangle, pepper powders with industrial-used Magnesium carbonate (工業級碳酸鎂), and Unagi Kabayaki eels with Malachite green, tea drink with DDT  residue,  food scraps and kitchen waste entered food market  supply chain, besides, food imported from Japan high-radiation area were hidden or covered / NTU professor  林鈺雄.   Furthermore, The Liberty Times (9-4-2016): black-heart sauce entered night market, and street-front shops small-eat shops, breakfast shops ... in Northern Taiwan for 1 year already.  

Taiwan food safety system has loopholes - catering business never mark food with allergen - which may cause cardiovascular disease, shock, Urticaria, cough, skin redness & swelling, etc.   Those food may have allergen include shrimp, crab, fish, octopus, squid, egg, milk, nuts, wheat, beans, kiwit, mango, etc.    Taiwanese prevalence ratio is about 10.16% population (Liberty Times, 7-25-2016)

Taiwanese government never does some soul searching and corrects the wrong, according to Business Weekly (No. 1436, June 2015), "It's weirdo !!, Taiwanese government's food-safety check only focuses on 3 dried products - dried daylily, dried radish, and preserved fruits (snacks)", National Taiwan University professor Wu K.Y. comments it as "Completely evading the crucial point", "those 3 items are very low risky products", and "Taiwan's food safety is nothing but a slogan (台灣食安只口號-apple daily 3-28-2015  http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20150328/582381/)".

Major world media like The New York Times and The Economist (11.29.2014) comment a series of food safety scandals is one of few main factors causing the KMT, Taiwan's ruling party, has suffered one of its worst electoral defeats since Chiang Kai-shek and his forces fled to the island at the end of Chinese civil war in 1949.
The New York Times (9.8.2014): the new scandal  (Taiwan food-safety scare) shows that there is still not enough being done to eliminate lawbreaking production lines.  TIME  ( 9.8.2014): Gutter Oil' Scandal Raises Food-Safety Fears Once Again in Greater China. Bloomberg BusinessWeek  (9.8.2014): Tainted Lard: China's Latest Food-Safety Scare Comes From Taiwan. BBC news (Nov. 19, 2013): A series of food safety scandals in Taiwan has hurt consumer confidence, and now there are worries they could dent the island's economic growth and damage tourism.  United Daily News (headline news, Dec. 31, 2013): "food scare" ranks number 1 news of 2013 in Taiwan The Economist (UK) commented :  Taiwan's former reputation as a reliable and safe food manufacturing country has been damaged...  The China Times (Taiwan, Nov. 30, 2013) states black-heart food, risks and traps are everywhere, and comments Taiwan government is short of will-power, ability, and resolution to combat illegal targets, high ranking officials are afraid of political responsibility and damaging export & business.


 

pic. above: This website-group -
No.1
ranking on google by keyword
                    "comment Taiwan food",  test at 9-5-2017.

 

 

pic. above: Feed-animal oil for humans ?
Public anger, Taiwan's Judiciary died already / the China Times, 11-28-2015.
The darkest day in Taiwan food safety history / the Liberty Times, 11-28-2015.

 

●  The China Times (12-14-2015):The legislative Yuan trickily made some law to cover big financial groups, food scare already turned into a terrorist in Taiwan...  Former supreme-court grand justice Chen (城仲模) expressed most Taiwanese don't trust the judicial system.
The Liberty Times (11-30-2015): Food safety still is a decisive factor to win presidential election (headline).  Taipei mayor Ko comments food-safety is a decisive factor for KMT to loss election in 2014, most likely in 2016 too. 

 

 

 

 


pic. left: 90.12% Taiwanese don't agree the trial decision: Tinghsin int'l group<頂新> selling processed feed-animal oil was acquitted of the charge / head-page of Apple Daily, 11-28-2015

 

★  The Liberty Times - Weekender  9.18.2015

time news events details
April 2012, Oct. 2013 plumping agent with Aluminum(膨鬆劑加鋁) By using plumping agent with Aluminum, donuts and Chinese steamed bun, etc will plump quicker and have better appearance for selling, but eating excessively may causes brain disease.  (烘焙業在製作饅頭與甜甜圈過程中,添加含鋁膨鬆劑使之迅速膨脹且賣相佳但過量可能導致腦部疾病)
Jan. 2013 fake rice vermicelli(假米粉) Taiwanese business including some in Sin-Chu, the major city producing rice vermicelli, replaced or mixed pure  rice vermicelli by corn starch to decrease the cost and selling price. (業者為壓低成本與售價以玉米澱粉混充純米米粉此包括"米粉重鎮"新竹)
May 2013 toxic starch(毒澱粉) Industrial adhesives Maleic Acid was mixed into regular starch by businesses to make chewy starch foods or products. (為製作口感Q彈的澱粉產品業者在一般澱粉中混入工業用黏著劑順丁烯二酸酐)
Aug. 2013 Top Pot Bakery used essence(胖達人香精) Top Pot has been flaunting itself a non-addictive bakery, but was reported using a number of addictives - including flavouring essence. (胖達人強調無添加的香氣麵包卻被踢爆使用多種食品添加物)
Feb. 2014 Industrial bleaching agent to whiten beam sprouts (工業漂白劑漂白豆芽) Using Industrial bleaching agent to whiten beam sprouts for better appearance and better selling. (台南查獲業者使用工業漂白劑、連二亞硫酸鈉漂白豆芽使賣相更佳)
March 2015 Illegally added Sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate dihydrate (CH3NaO3S) into Yun cake (潤餅違法添吊白塊) Long time using Illegal addictive Sodium formaldehyde sulfoxylate dihydrate (CH3NaO3S) into Yun cake (lumpia) for chewy taste. (有業者長期使用被禁用的「吊白塊」使潤餅吃時起來有彈性且不易破)
April 2015 Gypsum of pharmaceutic were added to Black-puddings(藥用石膏混入米血) For better taste and solidification, some Black-puddings using Gypsum of pharmaceutic as addictives. (屏東米血工廠為凝固產品且提升口感,使用跌打損傷藥石膏為添加物)

●  others like coloring agent were used as make-up or feeds on Salmon, soaking in phosphatic water to enlarger oysters, formaldehyde (HCHO) to extend oysters expiration, borax(硼砂) to whiten (or avoid dark / black color) oysters ...in some evil-hearted businesses, details pls. ref. to the Liberty Times.