CDC probing strain of Taiwan Norovirus

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Whether last week’s norovirus outbreak in Taichung’s Hoya Resort Hotel Wuling (武陵富野渡假村) was caused by norovirus GII.17 — a genotype common in certain African nations — has not been determined, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday.

The agency made the remarks after a norovirus outbreak at the hotel over the Lunar New Year holiday affected more than 200 guests and employees.

Norovirus infections cause rapid onset of vomiting and diarrhea. The virus is transmitted through the fecal-oral route, primarily via contaminated food or water.

CDC Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥) said there are many genotypes of norovirus and that local cases last year were caused mostly by GII.4 and GII.6 strains.

“GII.17 genotype was first detected in Taiwan in October 2013, before disappearing shortly later. However, it re-emerged in the nation late last year and has since been the most predominant genotype circulating in the country,” Chuang said.

Chuang said the world’s knowledge about the GII.17 strain’s pathogenicity and level of communicability is still limited, except that it caused a cluster of infections in Africa and Brazil in 2005 and 2006 respectively, and affected a few individuals in the US and Japan in recent years.

Maybe it should be for Americans in America? Food safety top concern for American businesspeople in Taiwan

Posted on January 9, 2015 by Douglas Powell

Food safety is the biggest anxiety for U.S. businesspeople living in Taiwan, according to an annual survey released Thursday by the American Chamber of Commerce (AmCham) in Taipei.

Among the least favorite aspects of living in Taiwan, the poll listed food safety as the major concern, followed by lack of an English-friendly environment. AmCham Chairman Thomas Fann noted that despite the food safety concerns, the business leaders at AmCham companies praised the high quality of life in Taiwan, describing Taiwan as “a safe and friendly environment in which to live and work.”

You owe me an apology, says prez: Taiwan indicts two businessmen in latest food scandal

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Two Taiwanese businessmen have been charged with using banned industrial dyes to adulterate food products, a case which prompted mass recalls in the island’s latest food safety scandal, prosecutors said Tuesday.

They sought a 20-year jail term for Lu Tien-jung on charges of food safety violations and fraud. His son and business partner Lu Chia-chien may face an 18-year jail term on the same charges, in addition to a fine of Tw$20 million (S$882,600) for each man.

The pair, who run the Chien Hsin company at the centre of the scandal, were charged with manufacturing and selling soybean emulsifiers tainted with dimethyl yellow and diethyl yellow dyes which have been banned from food products since late 2008, said the Changhua district prosecutor’s office.

Meanwhile, the President of Taiwan, Ma Ying-jeou, on Tuesday filed defamation lawsuits against a radio host for alleging that he accepted illicit political donations from a company implicated in food safety scandals.

Ma is seeking compensation of NT$10 million (HK$2.4 million) and printed apologies in four major newspapers from Clara Chou in a civil defamation suit, his lawyer Hung Wen-jun told reporters outside Taipei district court.

He also filed a criminal aggravated defamation suit against Chou since she “continues to make the same remarks concerning the case even though relevant persons have made many clarifications or even filed lawsuits against her”, Hung said.

Chou accused Ma of accepting under-the-table funds totalling NT$200 million to act as the “guardian” of food giant Ting Hsin, which has faced widespread public outrage and an island-wide boycott of its products following several food safety scandals.

Taiwan recalls tainted dried tofu in fresh food scare

Posted on December 20, 2014 by Douglas Powell

In Taiwan’s latest food scandal, almost 40 types of flavored dried tofu (bean curd) involving ten different companies are suspected to have become contaminated with dimethyl yellow, which is linked to cancer in animals.

Taiwanese authorities ordered more than two tonnes of tofu (bean curd) be removed from shelves on Wednesday (Dec 17) over fears it could contain a banned industrial dye, in the island’s latest food scandal.

Almost 40 types of flavoured dried tofu involving ten different companies are suspected to have become contaminated with dimethyl yellow, which is linked to cancer in animals, the Food and Drug Administration said. The administration ordered any manufacturer that used ingredients supplied by the Chien Hsin company that they suspect of being contaminated to recall their products by Saturday or risk a maximum fine of NT$200 million (US$6.3 million).

Chien Hsin is accused of selling soybean emulsifiers that were adulterated with the industrial dye, which is banned from food products, to at least 44 manufacturers.

Raw and risky: Hepatitis A cluster linked to oysters and clams in Taiwan

Posted on December 9, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Our friends are off to China and Indonesia at the end of the week (start of summer holidays) so we’re having them over for dinner tomorrow, where I’ll offer up a seafood pasta (I simply cannot compete with Susan’s stir-fry and other Chinese dishes).

But with the holiday season approaching, there will – like no raw egg dishes — be no raw shellfish served in this house.

The Taiwan CDC reports 30 indigenous cases of Hepatitis A from Oct. to Nov. 2014, in which more than 80 percent of the patients required hospitalization for their illness.

According to the epidemiological investigation, most patients consumed raw bivalves such as oyster and clams during the disease incubation period.

This has prompted the Taiwan CDC to remind the public to pay attention to personal dietary hygiene and consume only thoroughly cooked bivalves.

Bivalves such as oysters and clams concentrate the pathogens that are present in harvest waters.

Taiwan FDA conducting meat probe

Posted on November 13, 2014 by Douglas Powell

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said that local health agencies are investigating the 117 restaurants and traditional market vendors that have allegedly purchased and used lamb mixed with pork.

FDA interim Director-General Chiang Yu-mei (姜郁美) said the Greater Kaohsiung District Prosecutors’ Office has provided a list of 117 stores to health authorities nationwide and that the agencies are verifying the quantity of the adulterated lamb they procured.

“The adulterated lamb is mostly frozen meat and must be removed from store shelves. Businesspeople who produce or sell adulterated or counterfeited foods are subject to a maximum fine of NT$50 million (US$1.67 million) and a prison term of up to five years,” Chiang said.

Chiang made the remarks one day after the Greater Kaohsiung Government’s Department of Health released the results of its random test on sliced lamb products in the city, with the test showing that two of the four lamb samples tested were found to contain traces of pork.

The department then referred the two meat vendors that sold the problematic lamb products — one in the city’s Fongshan District (鳳山) and the other in Zuoying District (左營) — to prosecutors for further investigation.

According to prosecutors’ preliminary investigation, the two meat vendors purchased the adulterated lamb from Kaohsiung’s Ching Lung Meat Co (金龍肉品) and New Taipei City’s Hua Yuan International Co (華元國際) respectively.

While Ching Lung simply mixed lamb with pork, Hua Yuan was found to have manufactured three different grades of lamb, categorized as Grade A, Grade B and Grade C, prosecutors said.

Taiwan GDP growth misses estimates after food safety concerns

Posted on November 1, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Taiwan’s economy grew at a slower pace than expected last quarter as concern over food safety damped spending at restaurants.

Gross domestic product rose 3.78 percent from a year earlier in the three months through September, according to the statistics bureau’s preliminary data released today, compared with the median 3.9 percent estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists and 3.74 percent growth in the previous period.

The discovery of tainted oil in local food has prompted Taiwanese firms including Wei Chuan Foods Corp. to recall products and Japan and China to ban food imports from the island.

Taiwan tycoon resigns over food safety scandal

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Douglas Powell

The head of a leading Taiwanese food company resigned on Thursday after his firm was implicated in a string of food safety scandals that resulted in hundreds of tonnes of products being pulled from shelves.

Wei Yin-chun stepped down as chairman of Wei Chuan Foods Corp, the Taiwanese unit of food giant Ting Hsin International Group which owns popular instant noodle brand Master Kong, a statement said.

“Chairman Wei is deeply saddened and blames himself over the food safety incidents. Even though the incidents may have originated from problematic materials from the suppliers, he expresses heartfelt apologies for being unable to effectively manage the origin,” the company statement said.

Food fraud: Main suspect in Taiwan tainted oil scandal released on bail

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Douglas Powell

Chang Guann Co chairman Yeh Wen-hsiang (葉文祥), one of the main suspects in the tainted oil scandal, was released yesterday on bail of NT$9.5 million (US$311,444).

Yen, who was detained on Sept. 12 after a court hearing, was ordered to report daily to the local police station near his home.

Chang Guann deputy general manager Tai Chi-chuan (戴啟川) was released on bail of NT$200,000 last week.

Tai and Yeh were charged with fraud and violating the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).

Another principal figure in the scandal, Kuo Lieh-cheng (郭烈成), remained in custody at the Pingtung Detention Center.

Kuo is the owner of an unlicensed cooking oil recycling operation in Jhutian District (竹田), Pingtung County. He is alleged to be the main supplier of tainted oil to Chang Guann, where it was converted into lard cooking oil, which was then sold to downstream edible oil and food processing companies.

During the hearing, authorities said Kuo admitted that the company used animal hide and carcasses from abattoirs and leather factories for extracting oil, as well as recycled frying oil from restaurants and eateries that had not been inspected by health and sanitation authorities.

“Yeh and Tai knew Kuo was supplying substandard oil that would not have passed any food safety examination. Yet they continued to buy from Kuo at a low price and sold it at a higher price. They made a profit of at least NT$38 million just from transactions from March to September,” Pingtung District Chief Prosecutor Yang Wan-li (楊婉莉) said.

Yeh and Tai were quoted by Yang as insisting throughout the investigation that they did not know the origin of the recycled oil from Kuo.

However, Yang said that evidence pointed to the contrary, and prosecutors had asked for the maximum sentence for them.

Also facing charges are the three principal owners of Ching Wei Co (進威公司) in Pingtung County, on allegations that they knowingly purchased substandard oil from Kuo for processing into animal feed and thus going into many consumer food products.

Taiwan’s next health minister urged to make even street food safe

Posted on October 8, 2014 by Douglas Powell

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.”

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