President Ma Ying-jeou says that the recent food safety crisis is an opportunity for change. He was speaking to Kuomintang lawmakers on Wednesday.
Ma said the nation has already begun implementing the 8 measures on monitoring edible oil announced on September 17. He said the government is also pulling together over 200 personnel at 13 prosecutors’ offices and over 1000 police officers and investigators to crack down on food safety problems across the country. Ma said the government is thoroughly investigating problems with edible oil inTaiwan:
"If there are any other scandals that have yet to come forth, they will be made public after the results of our investigation are out," said Ma. "What’s important now is to turn this crisis into an opportunity for change. We need to make thorough checks and fill in any loopholes. This is the most important thing we need to do at this stage."
The investigations have already uncovered unscrupulous businesses that have imported oil from Vietnam that was not meant for human consumption but was labeled edible oil. In the past, the health department would not deal with these issues. But now, the government has established a food safety office to coordinate and manage all food safety work and issues.