New Taipei City Mayor Eric Chu says the nation should have a new system to reward whistleblowers who report food safety issues.
Chu was speaking on Tuesday at a city government meeting. He was referring to a recent food safety scandal in which authorities learned that waste oil was being reprocessed and sold for reuse in food production. He said the products tainted with reprocessed oil were as dangerous to consumers as taking drugs.
The mayor said the public has had enough of food safety scandals. He also said that local governments should draw lessons from these scandals. He said if a food safety scandal were uncovered in New Taipei City, he would ensure that the law was strictly enforced.
Chu called for a new nationwide reward system for citizens who report on food safety problems.
Chu said, "This includes businesses that say there should be a reward system for those who report [on food safety problems] and a whistle blowing clause. New Taipei City has this in mind and it has started putting it into effect, but it is not a nationwide system. Laws should be the same nationwide, so that employees with a conscience can make a report and be rewarded. I’m sure that businesses would be less willing to take chances with illegal behavior."
Chu said that as soon as the oil scandal broke out, New Taipei City tracked down the sources of the reprocessed oil. He said Taiwan needs a better system to manage food safety so that people who eat out can do so without worries.