Homemakers United Foundation Issues Statement on the Ministry of Health and Welfare Press Release Regarding Source Management of Japanese Food Imports to Taiwan

In its announcement of May 1, 2014, the Ministry of Health and Welfare stated that starting from the end of May it would launch a "Taiwan-Japan Exchange and Cooperation Plan," requiring that for Japanese food imports to Taiwan that are higher-risk products -- such as live, fresh, chilled aquatic products, frozen aquatic products, dairy products, infant and young child food, tea, meat, and processed foods -- a radiation inspection report from Japanese authorities must be attached, for inspection and comparison at our nation's border, to serve as a reference for subsequent adjustments to border inspection probability, so as to effectively strengthen source management.

As early as 2012, our foundation put forward four major demands: "conduct a health risk assessment for permissible standards of radiation safety in food," "publicly establish a standard process for setting radiation food standards and hold briefing sessions," "publish the sources of imported food and update food radiation inspection reports daily," and "increase the sampling inspection rate for radiation content in imported food," calling on the government to value the safety of the people's food. In response to this announcement, our foundation once again puts forward the following four-point statement:

1. Taiwan is one of the top three importing countries of Japanese food and should impose strict regulations in line with those of other countries.

Many countries required radiation inspection certification documents for products (including certificates of origin and inspection certificates) as early as three years ago, after the nuclear disaster occurred, yet Taiwan did not follow suit until May of this year. Moreover, compared with China, which restricts all food imports from 10 prefectures and cities in Japan, the United States with 14 prefectures and cities, and South Korea with 13 prefectures and cities (16 prefectures and cities for aquatic products), our nation bans only 5 prefectures and cities. As one of the top three importing countries of Japanese food by volume, our regulations are truly too lax.

2. Increase the sampling inspection rate and disclose information to reduce the risk of the people ingesting radiation-contaminated food.

Neighboring Hong Kong, China, which like Taiwan restricts food imports from only five prefectures and cities in Japan, had inspected nearly 190,000 food items as of May 8 of this year, and beginning April 1, 2011, it further published daily results of compliant samples "containing low radiation levels but not exceeding the guideline limits of the Codex Alimentarius Commission." By contrast, Taiwan has to date inspected only slightly more than 50,000 food items, and of those, 195 items were found to contain radioactive iodine-131 and cesium-134 plus cesium-137, with tea accounting for 60% and seafood more than 20%. Yet because they fell below the standard of 370 becquerels per kilogram, they were all deemed compliant and no detailed product information or distribution channels were published. Under such a low sampling inspection rate and opaque information conditions, the health of the people is undoubtedly exposed to extremely high risk.

3. Formulate special import agreements for items that have already been detected domestically and for items newly regulated by other countries.

Since 2013, many countries have separately established regulations for imported Japanese tea and aquatic products, and according to the latest announcement by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries on April 1, 2014, regarding the current control measures of various countries on food imported from Japan, 15 countries already control the radiation content in imported feed or aquaculture drugs. In this regard, Taiwan's relevant laws and regulations are still lacking.

4. Conduct a health risk assessment and establish radiation safety permissible standards in food that suit the people of Taiwan.

Taiwan's current standards were established in 1986 and are long unable to cope with the situation after the Fukushima nuclear disaster. We call on the government to immediately conduct a health risk assessment for permissible standards of radiation safety in food, refer to the relevant regulations established by neighboring Asian countries, incorporate factors such as the food self-sufficiency rate and the dietary habits of the people, and establish radiation permissible safety standards in food that suit the people of Taiwan.

For demands and actions related to radiation-affected food, please refer to our foundation's website: Homemakers United Foundation

Radiation food safety standards brook no delay

In safeguarding radiation food standards, are Taiwanese people inferior to American and South Korean livestock?