In order to enhance the efficiency of imported food inspection and provide a more comfortable and convenient environment for services, the Keelung Port Office of the Food and Drug Administration (hereinafter referred to as the “FDA”) will move to Keelung Harbor Service Building on January 2, 2018 to start providing cooperative services together with the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, Keelung Customs. The opening ceremony will be held in the Great Hall on the fourth floor of the Keelung Customs building at 10 am on January 3, co-hosted by Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung and Political Deputy Minister of Finance Su Jain-rong. The Mayor of Keelung City, Lin Yu-chang, elected representatives, and senior politicians will also be invited as guests to attend the ceremony.

These days, our citizens are more concerned about the safety of imported food, and in response, the FDA is also involved in considerable efforts to inspect imported food. However, the space of the original Keelung Port Office has not been sufficient; therefore, the office will be relocated in order to cooperate with the Customs Administration, Ministry of Finance, Keelung Customs for the purpose of elevating the safety of imported food. This will also assist the CPT single window to implement the unified integrated import declaration, enhance efficient civil service for customs declaration and inspection, and create a safer and more convenient environment.

After working together, a cooperative platform between the Keelung Port Office and Keelung Customs will be established to shorten the time for connection, as well as lessen the time and manpower required for delivering and returning documents. Therefore, the customs clearance process will be sped up and will become more convenient so that customs brokerage services can manage the customs declaration and inspection of imported food. Furthermore, the “sampling procedure of imported agricultural and fishing products inspection,” which includes food and drug in cargo clearance, tourist luggage, and postal parcels, will be launched as a trial operation. The sampling will be taken by customs with one-time open package inspection in order to avoid repeated package opening and inspection and save time and costs. After all, we expect to protect the “food and drug safety” of our citizens.

source: (https://www.fda.gov.tw/EN/newsContent.aspx?id=22677)

In 2016, the Food and Drug Administration developed the protocol for “Method for the determination of lutein and zeaxanthin in capsules" and initiated a special survey on the content of Lutein in commercially available lutein products.

The results showed that six products contained lutein content below the marked content. In particular, a Children’s chewable lutein tablet made by “Shih-Hung Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd" stood out with less than 80% of the labeling value of the product. Therefore, an official administrative audit was ordered and found that the company in question was suspected of replacing the original expiry date of products with a later date before repackaging them to be sold to customers again.This audit result was sent to the Yunlin District Prosecutors Office and a criminal investigation was immediately opened.

On May 11, 2016, Yunlin Prosecutor’s Office, the Police, the Investigation Bureau, Yunlin Health Bureau and Food and Drug Administration launched a joint investigation, interviewing the importers, manufacturers, distributors and subcontractors involved with the production of the concerned product and searched these operators’ offices and homes for evidence.

In this joint investigation, “Shih-Hung Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd" was found to have tampered with the lot number and expiry date of a total of 65 products. As a result, 25 million pills in the inventory were seized and a recall of products in the distribution and retail channels were ordered.

On July 12, 2016, Yunlin District Prosecutors Office officially indicted the relevant personnel for the violation of the Act Governing Food Sanitation and Fraud and seized the proceeds of illegal activities.

source: TFDA (https://www.fda.gov.tw/EN/newsContent.aspx?id=22635)

Source : Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2017/08/31/2003677509)

Staff writer, with CNA

About 10,000 eggs yesterday were taken off store shelves in Taipei, after they were found to have come from a farm in Chiayi County where the insecticide fipronil was detected, the Taipei Department of Health said.

The recall came after the department on Tuesday received a report from its counterpart in the county that excessive traces of fipronil had been found in eggs from Tsai Chun-chieh Livestock Farm, which had been sent to a retailer in Taipei.

All the recalled eggs are to be shipped back to Chiayi County, where they will be destroyed, Food and Drug Division head Wang Ming-li (王明理) said.

Test samples from the Tsai farm and a livestock farm in Hsinchu County came after the Council of Agriculture last week completed an examination of 1,451 egg farms nationwide for possible fipronil contamination.

Concentrations of the toxic insecticide were found to exceed 5 parts-per-billion, or 0.005 milligrams per kg, the maximum residue limit set by the EU, the council said.

Taiwan follows EU standards.

The new finding bring the number of fipronil-affected farms to 45, the statement said, adding that those farms have been put under strict controls and prohibited from transporting any eggs off their premises.

The council launched an inspection of chicken farms across Taiwan on Aug. 20 as the fipronil scare came to light.

The insecticide has also contaminated eggs in Europe and South Korea. The use of fipronil in agriculture and food production is illegal in Europe.

The WHO considers fipronil to be “moderately toxic” to humans. Long-term exposure could cause damage to the kidneys, liver or thyroid gland.