283 products from Japan's nuclear disaster area declared falsely and entered Taiwan, China
By the Food and Drug Administration and the New Taipei City Health Department
(Full list of 283 products from Japan's five radiation-affected regions: http://goo.gl/Ljp2yv)
The Ministry of Health and Welfare found that some importers had brought in food from five Japanese cities and counties affected by radiation contamination, allegedly using labeling to pass it off as coming from non-affected areas. Personnel from various cities and counties were dispatched to department stores and supermarkets, and a total of 283 products have been identified so far, including well-known tea drinks such as Iyemon green tea, Ippudo cup noodles, Kirin Gogo no Kocha milk tea, Uji matcha green tea drink, and even Ryukakusan and Kikkoman soy sauce are on the list.
The Keelung office of the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare recently discovered that some importers were suspected of using labeling to falsely declare the origin of food products. From March 19 to 21, together with the Third Brigade of the Seventh Special Police Corps of the National Police Agency under the Ministry of the Interior, the New Taipei City Government Health Department, the Hsinchu County Government Health Department, the Taichung City Health Department, the Tainan City Health Department, and the Kaohsiung City Health Department, 222 personnel were dispatched to conduct inspections at "Shengyu Trading Co., Ltd.", "Sancan Trading Co., Ltd.", "Bohong Enterprise Co., Ltd.", "Shangyang Co., Ltd.", "Shangyou Co., Ltd.", "Yuhong Foods Co., Ltd.", "Lituo Co., Ltd.", "Taiguan International Development Enterprise Co., Ltd.", "Enwang Trading Co., Ltd.", and "Changwei Xingye Co., Ltd."
The results of this joint inspection showed that nearly 3,000 products were examined, and a total of 283 products were found whose place of manufacture was suspected to be in the five Japanese prefectures of Fukushima (19 items), Ibaraki (74 items), Tochigi (44 items), Gunma (99 items), and Chiba (47 items), which have been announced as suspended from acceptance of import inspection applications (Attachment 1). A total of 20.4 metric tons of suspected non-compliant products have been sealed on site. All suspected problematic products have been sent for radiation testing, and among them, no radiation was detected in 30 products. However, because they are products that may not be imported, the operators have been ordered to immediately notify downstream operators to carry out preventive removal from shelves.
The New Taipei City Government Health Department explained that Shengyu Company imported sweet soy sauce and dark soy sauce products on February 4, and on the declared "Food and Related Products Import Inspection Application Form", the attached sample labels and Chinese labeling listed the manufacturer as being in Tokyo Metropolis, but the actual location was in Chiba, Gunma, and other areas, which are Japanese prefectures announced by our country as suspended from import. Therefore, on the 19th, together with this department, personnel were dispatched to inspect the company's warehouse on Fengjiang Road in Taishan District on site, and found that the place of manufacture of the products was in Japanese cities, counties, and districts affected by radiation contamination (Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba), and also found that the location of the manufacturer indicated in Chinese on the affixed label did not match the location of the manufacturer indicated in the original text that was covered.
The Food and Drug Administration reiterated once again that since the Fukushima nuclear power plant nuclear disaster on March 11, Year 100 of the Republic of China (2011), the acceptance of import inspection applications for food produced or manufactured in the five Japanese prefectures of Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, and Chiba has been suspended. Importing products from these five prefectures already involves a violation of Article 4, Paragraph 5 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, and the act of falsely declaring imported food also involves a violation of Article 30, Paragraph 1 of the same Act. Under Article 47, Subparagraph 1 and Subparagraph 13 of the same Act, a fine of no less than NT$30,000 and no more than NT$3 million may be imposed.