Taiwan to Increase Border Controls of Imported Edible Oil
The Food and Drug Administration announced Friday it would expand border controls on imports of edible oil in the wake of the latest food safety scandal, singling out cooking oil and raw materials from Vietnam for stricter regulations.
The FDA will require those goods imported from Vietnam to contain documents issued by its government to prove they are safe for human consumption, the same practice applied to imports of edible oil from China, Hong Kong, and Macau.
All cooking oil manufacturers will have to register with the FDA by October 31 or they will be blocked from importing, producing, and selling oil.
The Bureau of Foreign Trade is expected to issue regulations on imported oil in November, also in response to the tainted oil that has made its way into an alarmingly large portion of the market.
The FDA said those new rules will require all imports of edible oil, animal feed oil, and industrial oil to have their purposes clearly marketed on their customs import declarations.
The Council of Agriculture, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Environmental Protection Administration, and Ministry of Health and Welfare will be in charge of management to ensure oil not intended for human consumption does not make it into consumer foods.
The latest move to step up control on imported oil was taken after it was discovered that non-edible oil imported from Hong Kong might have made its way into the oil products by several edible oil companies.
Source: Focus Taiwan
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