Mayor Chu appeals dealers to take down problematic food and raises rewards
New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu appealed dealers to actively take down problematic food and make improvements; also, he directed the Public Health Department to promptly design the related regulations of raising rewards for reporting problematic food to protect civilians’ health.
Chu indicated that regardless of cooking oil and other kinds of food, all the food manufacturers of New Taipei City should actively take down problematic food and make improvements if they had behaviors of adulteration, counterfeit and mislabeling, and they should take appropriate actions before they were caught by the City Government for their wrongdoings.
Mayor Chu said that food safety is a very important topic that all citizens cared about, and local governments should not only cooperate with Ministry of Health and Welfare to vigorously investigate and seize suspicious dealers, but also unite with non-governmental groups to encourage civilians to report suspects by raising rewards. He also emphasized that not only just the ratio of the rewards for reporting was increased, but also a special reward would be offered for each very influential case.
The Commissioner of the Public Health Department Lin Xuerong represented that the department had activated “oil safety action project” to protect the public’s consumer rights of food, and all supermarkets and restaurants would be thoroughly investigated. Those caught problematic oil products had all already been taken down, and their major problem was mislabeling. The department would invite local dealers, and guide them about correct food labeling and related regulations, and it was hoped that the solid foundation could prevent problems from arising.