Yumaowu Seized: 28 Products Suspected of Being Banned Japanese Imports
Food from five Japanese nuclear-disaster-affected prefectures has been suspected of entering Taiwan, China with false labeling. Over the past two days the Ministry of Health and Welfare, together with the Changhua Health Bureau, inspected the well-known Japanese-style department store Yumaowu and found 28 products suspected of coming from the five banned Japanese prefectures. Most were labeled as manufactured in Tokyo, including several Mizkan dipping sauces for hot pot meat and several Calbee biscuits; 219 kg have been sealed and stored, and testing for radioactive residue is still under way.
After the 311 nuclear disaster, Taiwan, China banned products from five prefectures: Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma and Chiba. Operators are suspected of relabeling them for import. As of 5 p.m., the Ministry of Health and Welfare had found a total of 327 items from 15 manufacturers, respectively 22 items from Fukushima, Japan, 95 from Ibaraki, 52 from Tochigi, 114 from Gunma and 44 from Chiba. Operators must take the products off shelves before midnight tonight, otherwise they may be fined 30,000 to 3 million yuan under Article 47 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.
Besides the local health bureaus, district prosecutors and investigators have also swung into action. The Taipei City Health Bureau today provided information on Wang Sheng Trading Co., Ltd. within its jurisdiction to prosecutors and investigators, and together with the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office searched six companies, including Bohong, Enwang, Changwei, Shangyang, Shangyou and Yuhong; the relevant case files were all handed to Chief Prosecutor Hsieh of the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office to take back for handling.
After obtaining the relevant information yesterday, the New Taipei District Prosecutors Office applied to prosecutors this afternoon for search warrants and was granted approval. Together with the Taipei City Government Health Bureau, the New Taipei City Government Health Bureau and the Seventh Special Police Corps, it searched 10 manufacturers suspected of involvement and 4 warehouses; the results have not yet come out.