The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has denied an article by Taiwanese media group United Daily News saying that Taiwan will lift restrictions on food imports from Japan.
The article claims that Taiwanese and Japanese officials have reached an agreement that will allow the importation of food produced in four Japanese prefectures to resume. According to the report, the agreement would take effect next week.
The report also claimed that only food produced in Fukushima Prefecture would remain subject to a 2011 ban passed over fears of radiation after the Fukushima nuclear disaster.
However, Deputy Director of the FDA’s food safety division Hsueh Fu-chin said Wednesday that there are no plans to relax restrictions on imports of Japanese food products.
"We are now assessing this case, but there has been no decision," said Hsueh. "We haven’t set a timetable. Is there a deadline for making a decision? No. We have not reached a decision."
Taiwan has banned imports of food from five Japanese prefectures since 2011 amid fears of radiation from the Fukushima nuclear disaster. New rules, which took effect in May, require that all imported Japanese food products come with proof-of-origin certificates.
In addition, the rules that went into effect in May also require that several “high risk” products from certain areas of Japan come with radiation safety certificates.