The edible oil inspection aimed at all 163 companies nationwide has been conducted on 145 companies to date (Oct. 24 morning). The rest of the inspection will be finished before this weekend. Examination on sampled oils will be finished next week and the results will be published immediately. In order to protect the food consumption rights of the public, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) reiterates the determination on scrutiny and severe punishment of illegal foods. The MOHW also proclaims that an “oil safety action” will be launched, demanding that edible oil companies come forth with a joint affidavit before October 31 to guarantee that all the product ingredients and additives match those specified on the label. Beginning November 1, an extended inspection will be conducted on all oil products on the market, and in one week all oil products on the market should not carry fraudulent and false labels. The MOHW will also implement the following measures: 

1. A national food safety conference will be conducted in November, inviting professionals, scholars and institutional representatives in the fields such as food processing, food examination, law and toxicology to discuss how to upgrade the food safety management mechanism. 

2. A meeting will be held this Saturday on the recovering of illegal profits of the companies involved in severe violation of the food laws and on amendment of the laws to aggravate penalties. The Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Finance, and professionals in the fields such as food, accounting, financial tax and law will be invited to discuss the mechanism to recover the illegal profits of the companies involved in severe violation of the laws and the method of calculation, which will serve as a reference basis for the implementation of the laws by the local departments of health. The amendment of laws to aggravate penalties on illegal food cases will also be discussed. 

3. A proposal will be made to local health authorities to penalize the illegal food cases captured with the highest fine to set an example. 

4. Additional increment on the expenditure of food safety management: Starting year 2013, an expenditure of 320 million NTD has been invested to reestablish food safety under the “55 Project”, and next year (2014) an additional 300 million NTD will be invested to increase the subsidy to the city and county departments of health on the food safety inspection and examination expenditures, in order to strengthen the food inspection management. 

5. Encouraging non-governmental involvement and volunteering in food safety. The current 800 volunteers in food safety will be increased to reach 10,000 next year to assist with survey of food labels on the market. 

6. The ten action programs of new food management will be implemented nationwide. The ten programs include encouraging reporting of illegal activities, food registration, a traceability system, and complete listing of all ingredients.