Egg products in trouble again, Council of Agriculture warns: reoffenders will be removed from the market, with fines up to 2.5 million

Yesterday another egg product from Yongji Egg Shop was found to contain fipronil exceeding the limit at 10 ppb. Investigation showed that the source was Zhenkun Livestock Farm in Tainan City. After the previous round in which the authorities rolled out a nationwide containment policy and inspected all 1,459 egg and poultry farms across Taiwan, China, another case of fipronil exceeding the limit has now appeared, and various sectors have questioned whether government agencies' "containment has failed"; today (the 19th), Council of Agriculture Minister Lin Tsung-hsien once again called on egg and poultry operators not to "take the easy way out," and sternly declared heavy words such as "a heavy fine of 2.5 million" and "reoffenders will be forced out of the market."

Lin Tsung-hsien: Maximum heavy fine of 2.5 million, fined until they dare not speculate again

Under the authorities' nationwide containment policy, another case of fipronil exceeding the limit was reported today. Does this mean fipronil is still being illegally used by egg and poultry operators? In response, the deputy director-general of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said in an interview a few days ago only that inspection units did indeed find several empty containers of unknown drugs on site, that the matter has now been handed over to Tainan prosecutors and investigators, and that they will quickly test why the farm used the drugs.

In response, Lin Tsung-hsien said that since the fipronil incident broke out, he has continually "deeply reminded" egg and poultry operators, and this time some farms were again found to still be using drugs illegally; "for farms that do not obey the law, heavy penalties will be imposed under the Animal Drugs Control Act."

"The first fine is 300,000, and I think that is too light." Lin Tsung-hsien stressed that producers must bear the responsibility of producers, and if there is a repeat offense, the maximum lawful fine can reach 2.5 million yuan, "we must increase the penalties, fine them until they dare not speculate again." He once again called on operators not to take the easy way out.

Lin Tsung-hsien further said that since the fipronil egg scandal, agricultural authorities have felt the inadequacy of the current Livestock Farming Act; Lin pointed out that under current regulations, operators can only have their licenses revoked after three violations, "but if they cannot meet the standard, they should be forced out of the market." In the future, consideration will be given to amending the Livestock Farming Act, with the hope of completing the relevant legislative preparations within one month and submitting them to the Legislative Yuan before the end of the year.

Council of Agriculture: In the future, it does not rule out coding every egg

But with the fipronil egg scandal flaring up again, how exactly will agricultural authorities safeguard food safety? Lin Tsung-hsien said that all case farms currently found to have background levels of fipronil have been required to attach certificates of compliance before they can deliver eggs to egg dealers; in the future, it does not rule out coding every egg as well, "I believe traceability will produce positive feedback," Lin said.

"The era of taking the easy way out is over. If there is more speculation, even the gods cannot save you." Lin Tsung-hsien called on all poultry farmers to be mentally prepared, "those that fail standards and do not obey the law will have their licenses revoked."