Health Minister Chiang Been-huang says his ministry supports an appeal of the verdict in a food safety scandal. Chang was speaking at the legislature Wednesday.
Chiang was referring to a recent ruling handed down by the Taiwan Changhua District Court over the lard made by the Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co. Last year, a Ting Hsin subsidiary was caught selling lard containing animal feed oil in products meant for human consumption. The discovery made headlines.
The court found the owner of the company not guilty on the grounds that the Food Safety Management Law only applies to finished food products, not ingredients. However, Chiang said that judges misinterpreted the law, and that the verdict did not meet public expectations.
“It’s very clear. The Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation has three articles on the definition of food. Food includes finished food products and ingredients. According to Article 15, food does not meet legal standards if its ingredients have been tainted," said Chiang, "It’s very clear. According to regulations related to the act, it is not enough to simply talk about the safety of finished products.”
Chiang said his ministry will use its expertise to help the prosecutor to appeal the case.