Jing Peisu endangers the death of a baby boy. The Supervisory Yuan points to the "food safety loophole" of the Food and Drug Administration. The Food and Drug Administration: the Food Safety Law is complete.

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At the end of last year, due to exaggerated advertisements of imported direct-selling food "Jingpeisu", parents fed a four-month-old boy for four months and nearly died. A few days ago, the Supervisory Yuan also conducted an investigation report on this case, pointing out that the Food and Drug Administration's "food safety loophole" should first examine the translation of imported food labels and advertisements.

However, the Food and Drug Department (FDA) held a press conference today (16), saying that prior review not only involves freedom of speech, but also because of the diversification of food production and complex advertising patterns. If minor changes need to be examined, they will affect the listing of food. In general, food manufacturers are required to carry out independent management in accordance with the Food Safety Law, which can impose penalties of 40 to 4 million for false advertisements, exaggeration and misunderstandings. Infant food products are also inspected and registered, not without supervision.

Direct distributor mark Yisheng misunderstanding supervision institute: food safety management loophole

After the investigation of the case by the Taipei Municipal Health Bureau, it was found that the food "Jingpeisu" imported by Jiakangli was not infant formula, and the translation and labeling of the products were inconsistent before and after import. The label of the original product before import indicates that "it should not be provided to infants under 1 year old without consultation with a physician." However, after import, the product translation is weakened as: "infants under 1 year old should consult medical professionals to eat this product."

And originally marked "this product is for nutritional supplements only", the domestic direct distributor advertisement is "the most nutritious breakfast, nothing 3 tablespoons, nothing 6 tablespoons, lay the foundation."

The report of the Supervisory Yuan pointed out that the Food and Drug Administration failed to examine the translation of imported food labels of Jiaconli in advance, or carried out other gatekeeping measures, allowing direct distributors to tamper with the applicable and taboo contents of the original factory labels, "creating loopholes in food safety management." there is a need for review. "

Only 411 health foods with exaggerated efficacy on the market have been examined and approved.

There are often non-FDA announced "health efficacy" food on the market, pretending to be "health food" products to confuse the public. According to the investigation report of the Supervisory Yuan, as of the end of May this year, only 411 pieces of health food had been examined and approved by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, and tens of thousands of other health food products that had not been strictly checked can only rely on the norms stipulated in the Food Safety Law, which are falsely marked, exaggerated, and prone to misunderstanding.

Food safety loophole? Food and Drug Administration: penalties imposed in accordance with the Food Safety Law

With regard to the fact that the Supervisory Yuan pointed out that the FDA had created a "food safety loophole", the FDA also came forward to put out the fire. With regard to the pre-censorship of the content of imported food advertisements, Jiang Qianqi, head of the Enterprise Section of the Food and Drug Administration, said that Taiwan adopts market supervision in comparison with the European Union, the United States, Japan, and South Korea, and health authorities continue to monitor all kinds of media. including the Internet, television, radio, newspapers and magazines.

If food advertisements are found to be false, exaggerated or prone to misunderstanding, a fine of 40 to 4 million may be imposed in accordance with the Food Safety Act; if medical efficacy is involved, a fine of 600000 to 5 million may be imposed; if the offender goes out of business again, if the circumstances are serious, the product shall not be supplied or sold, and corrective advertisements must be published.

Dong Jingxin, Special member of the Food Section of the Food and Drug Department (Photo / Liu Yixin)

Food and Drug Administration: complete provisions in the Food Safety Law

In response to the Supervisory Yuan's query about the Food Safety omission of the Food and Drug Administration, Dong Jingxin responded that before the Food Safety Law was amended, it stipulated that the industry should manage it independently. Isn't that the same as a loophole? "this is what the Supervisory Yuan called a loophole, but the Food Safety Law has always had relevant provisions, and the vast majority of operators will abide by them."

"at present, the provisions of the Food Safety Law are quite complete." Dong Zhizhi pointed out that in general, food labels are independently managed by the operators, who must bear the responsibility of their own products; in addition, the relevant regulations also make it clear that when illegal operators violate the law, government units will also audit the industry, and at the same time, through public reporting, strengthen food safety control.

In the case of infant ingestion, the Food and Drug Administration: a fine of 80,000 has been imposed on direct distributors.

With regard to the case of infants taking Jingpeisu at the end of last year, Dong Jingxin explained, "it is because it is given to babies as the only staple food that major health problems occur." The import of this product has not been inspected and registered because it does not belong to baby food at all. "Infant imported food will be examined by the Food and Drug Administration. If the food sold in the market is not marked for infants and young children, special attention should be paid to it."

At present, because of misunderstandings and misunderstandings in translation, the direct selling company has been fined NT $80,000 by the Taipei Municipal Health Bureau in accordance with the Food and Safety Law.

Consumer Foundation: many countries review after purchasing, but the operators do not abide by the law as claimed by the Food and Drug Administration.

You Kaixiong, chairman of the Consumer Culture and Education Foundation, said that in most countries, food labeling or related regulations are indeed an ex post facto review. "and considering the manpower of domestic health institutions, it is objectively difficult to implement." However, this is not to say that the Fehd has no room for review.

You pointed out that not all foods should be subject to prior censorship, but there should be a pre-vetting mechanism for foods for infants and young children under one year old. The Food and Drug Administration has made an inspection and registration of infant food, but it is not known whether this case was a deliberate or accidental translation error.

You asked whether it was possible to issue a written statement of guarantee in the future to ensure that the translation was correct, and if something went wrong, indicating that he had done it intentionally, the penalty would be increased.

Do most domestic operators follow the provisions of the Food Safety Law? "I don't quite agree." You said that the Consumer Foundation for food labeling survey, there are many unqualified samples, on the whole, the proportion of commodity labels is still on the high side. "the self-discipline of the industry has not reached the level of consumer trust."

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