Products from Japan's nuclear disaster zone exported to Taiwan, China; three operators protest their innocence, and the Food and Drug Administration demands evidence to clarify the matter

Food products from five Japanese prefectures around Fukushima, which are banned from import, are suspected of having entered Taiwan, and 11 more items were added today, bringing the total to 292 products as of 12 noon. The new items include the well-known Morinaga milk caramel and fruit gummy candies, but three sellers issued statements protesting their innocence, saying that the Chinese labels match the original Japanese text, yet the Ministry of Health and Welfare used internal factory codes as the basis, and testing standards vary from district to district, so the sellers did not deceive consumers.(Click here for the newly corrected full product list of 0326)

Jiang Yumei, Director-General of the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said in response that everything is being done in accordance with the law, and that if sellers have doubts, they can present evidence to explain which step went wrong, and the judicial authorities will clarify where responsibility lies.

Ministry of Health and Welfare: Suspected banned-import products to be fully removed from shelves by Friday

After the Fukushima nuclear disaster, Taiwan banned imports of food from Fukushima and the four surrounding prefectures of Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba, but found that some sellers were suspected of mislabeling and importing products from the five prefectures. Today, new additions include "Taiwan Kirin Beer Co., Ltd. (Guanyin Warehouse)" KIRIN Afternoon Tea - Original Black Tea, Original Milk Tea, Lemon Black Tea, as well as "Xianghe Enterprise Co., Ltd. (Wugu Warehouse)" Morinaga Amazake Milk Caramel and Tri-Color Fruit Gummy.

However, the Bourbon Corporation Alice Hokkaido Milk Sandwich Biscuits imported by "Taiguan International" and the Fujiya Mille-feuille were confirmed after investigation not to come from the five banned prefectures and were removed from the list; the four Kikkoman soy sauces, although found to come from Hyogo Prefecture, were still listed as suspected products because the manufacturer's "manufacturer-specific code" all indicated Chiba Prefecture.

Jiang Yumei said that 193 of the products have been tested for radiation levels, with none detected, and the rest are still being tested, but the products on the list must be fully removed from shelves by 12 midnight this Friday.

Sellers protest their innocence, saying everything followed regulations