Whoever becomes Taiwan’s next health minister should devote himself or herself to promoting food safety in the country so that even the snacks sold at streetside stands are safe, said former health chief Yang Chih-liang after his successor Chiu Wen-ta announced his resignation Friday to take responsibility for a recent food scare.

“Food safety has been a problem” in Taiwan, said Yang, a former head of the Department of Health, who served between August 2009 and February 2011, before Taiwan suffered several food scandals.

The department was renamed into the Ministry of Health and Welfare in July 2013.
It’s a problem for the country, Yang said, adding that he expects the future health and welfare minister to fix it so that “even at street food stands, people can eat with ease.”