Health minister Chiu Wen-ta said Sunday that Taiwan will introduce a tracking and tracing system for edible oils beginning on October 31. That’s in response to a major scandal involving the use of recycled oils in oil products intended for human consumption.
The health ministry had recently announced that starting next February it would be introducing a plan for tracking and tracing the origins of six high-risk food products and ingredients. However, it said Sunday that it was fast-tracking another product -- edible oils – in the new system. The plans will be looking at products created by some 100 manufacturers and used by more than 500 downstream manufacturers.
Taiwan’s agriculture ministry has been implementing a traceability system for agricultural products for several years, now. However there is no similar system in place for other types of food products. That means that when food scares emerge, it’s difficult for the health ministry to trace the origins of the problem.
Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta said the ministry would enforce independent testing, enhance its regulation of the authentication process for edible oils, and conduct Good Hygiene Practices (GHP) checks.