Starting next July, blended rice flour must contain at least half rice milk product, and labeling rules for fruit and vegetable juices will also be drafted
In light of the recent spate of food safety problems, the labeling regulations for rice noodles have been moved up by one year. The Ministry of Health and Welfare announced on the 29th of last month that starting July 1 next year, products containing 50% or more rice must be labeled as blended rice noodles, and only those with 100% rice may be called pure rice noodles (rice vermicelli) or rice noodles (rice vermicelli), and the rice content must be stated. If the rice content is less than half, the product may not be labeled as rice noodles at all. On the same day, the Ministry of Health and Welfare also gave advance notice of a draft regulation on milk labeling: if the amount of milk powder or raw milk is less than half, the product may only be regarded as a general beverage. False labeling may be punished with a fine of 40,000 to 200,000; the draft of the new version of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation raises this to 200,000 to 4,000,000.
Labeled as blended rice noodles, rice content must reach 50% or more
An investigation by NewsMarket at the beginning of the year found that nearly 90% of rice noodle manufacturers on the market used cheap corn starch to replace rice flour, with some rice contents even below 10%. On the 29th of last month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced the Regulations Governing Labeling of Packaged Rice Noodle Products on Sale; excluding ingredient packets, oil packets and seasoning powder packets, products labeled pure rice noodles (rice vermicelli) or rice noodles (rice vermicelli) must use rice as 100% of the raw material; those with a rice content of 50% to 100% may only be labeled blended rice noodles (rice vermicelli), and the font must be the same size; if the rice content is less than half, the package may not be labeled as rice noodles.
To make it easier for consumers to identify, in addition to the product item, the rice content must also be labeled, with the font size greater than 4 mm in length and width, and the color must be clearly different from the background color.
On July 30 this year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare gave advance notice of the draft Regulations Governing Labeling of Packaged Rice Noodle Products on Sale, with an implementation date of July 1, 2015. At that time, Tsai Shu-chen, head of the Food Division of the Food and Drug Administration, said that modifying labeling must be notified to the WTO and must have a one-year buffer period. However, after the blended oil incident broke out this year, the public completely lost confidence in food safety, and under pressure from all sides the Ministry of Health and Welfare moved implementation up by one year.
Chiang Yu-mei said that moving up implementation was in response to public demands, as many people hoped labeling would be systematized; starting July next year, those who falsely label will no longer be given a buffer period and will be directly fined 40,000 to 200,000. In response, Chang Chih-kang, chairman of the Consumers' Foundation, Chinese Taipei, said he was optimistic about it, but hoped the Ministry of Health and Welfare could strictly inspect, and the Consumers' Foundation would also assist with spot checks on the market to ensure the public's rights.
Labeled as dairy products, milk content must exceed 50%
On the same day, the Ministry of Health and Welfare also gave advance notice of a draft regulation on the names and labeling of fresh milk, long-life milk, flavored milk, milk drinks and milk powder, clearly setting out the definitions of fresh milk, long-life milk, flavored milk and so on.
The draft stipulates that fresh milk is raw milk that has been heated, sterilized, packaged and refrigerated, to be drunk directly by consumers; long-life milk is raw milk or fresh milk that has been sterilized by high pressure or high temperature and packaged aseptically or in bottles (cans).
Chen Ming-ju, a professor in the Department of Animal Science and Technology at National Taiwan University, said that both fresh milk and long-life milk are made by directly sterilizing raw milk, but fresh milk does not kill as many bacteria as long-life milk, so it must be drunk as soon as possible. The Council of Agriculture issues a cow-head mark, checking the number of dairy cows on the farm and the amount of fresh milk, and only fresh milk can apply for CAS; long-life milk is also sterilized fresh milk, but it kills 99.9% of bacteria and can be stored at room temperature for a longer time.
In addition, the draft defines flavored milk and milk drinks separately: the raw materials of flavored milk must come from raw milk, fresh milk or long-life milk, while the raw materials of milk drinks may come from milk powder, but the content must all exceed 50%; that is, in the future if labeled papaya milk, the milk content must exceed 50%, otherwise it may only be treated as a general beverage.
Regulations on labeling fruit and vegetable juice content to be announced within six months
Besides rice noodles and milk, the labeling of fruit and vegetable juice content is also a focus of public concern. Yeh Ming-kung, director-general of the Food and Drug Administration, said today during questioning at the Legislative Yuan that the regulations on fruit and vegetable juice labeling have been sent to the legal affairs group for review, and next must still go through a two-month advance notice period and be submitted to the WTO, but will certainly be announced within six months.