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Food Safety Policy

  • Data Source:Department of Planning
  • Created:2019-02-25
  • Last Updated:2019-02-26

1.Problem Analysis

(1) Industries:
a. Lack of self-control
b. Too many opportunists
c. Lack of professional managers
d. Many unknown high-risk companies

(2) Government:
a. Limited powers of administrative investigation
b. Limited data and databases
c. Limited inspection and test capabilities
d. Insufficient information on imported food management

(3) Public:
a. Indifferent to food safety
b. Unable to evaluate facticity of rumors

(4) Laws:
a. Lack of deterrence with minor punishments
b. Spectrum of new and potential risks
c. Lack of harmonization with international regulations


2.Promote Five-point Food Safety Policy

(1)Strengthen source control management

Strategy Achievements
Food Import Management Wider scope of products subject to systematic inspection; inspections of fishery and dairy products started in 2018; egg and animal-fat products set for 2019
Harmonization of food regulations and standards with international norms Standards for 380 pesticides, 141 veterinary drugs and 791 food additives were established, amended and reviewed
Using big-data analysis to find high-risk companies Combine statistics with artificial intelligence to improve high-risk detection hit rates at food borders and post-markets

(2) Re-establish food production management system

Strategy Achievements
Refining the registration requirements for food industries Registration of warehousing information and food logistics become mandatory; 450,000+ firms registered by end of 2018
Expand self-regulatory systems and require them in key industries All food manufacturing industries of designated categories capitalized with at least NT$ 30,000,000 must conduct testing and establish traceability systems and food safety monitoring plans

(3) Strengthen government market-inspection capabilities

Strategy Achievements
Strengthen government market-inspection capabilities 1. The compliance rate for imported food on the market was 98.1% in 2018
2. The compliance rate for domestically produced food on the market was 95.5% in 2018
Inter-agency cooperation and integration of inspection resources Dried daylily products can serve as an example of agricultural and administrative agencies cooperating; through joint inspection and counseling at the source and stronger production management and restaurant inspections, the pass rate rose to 98.3% year on year
Management of Japan food imports Since 2011, only 224 cases have detectable radiation in more than 130,000 batches of Japanese food radiation tests, and these were still within legal limits

(4) Increase liability for producers and vendors

Strategy Achievements
Review the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation and related regulations The Ministry of Health and Welfare promulgated Penalty Standards for Fines under Paragraph 1, Article 44 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation
Directions on Definition of Severe Circumstances Promulgation of Directions on Definition of Severe Circumstances in Violations of Paragraph 1 and 4, Article 15 and Article 16 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation

(5) Encourage and create oversight platforms

Strategy Achievements
1919 National Food Safety Helpline TFDA received more than 213,000 calls addressing food-related complaints and inquiries by December 2018
Whistle-blowing on food products A total of 1054 complaints were received between December 2015 and November  2018; whistle-blower bonuses totaling NT$10.5 million for 3 cases were paid
TFDA Rumor Buster TFDA’s official website has accumulated 8.03 million visitors; articles were referenced more than 2260 times by local and international electronic media

3. Satisfaction Survey Analysis

      Survey results show people are more satisfied with food safety management since implementation of the Five-point Food Safety Policy. Telephone survey results revealed that satisfaction has increased from 66.7% to 72.5%. As for a website survey, satisfaction rates have more than doubled from 27% to 65.2%.


4. Future Perspectives

(1) Improve food safety

  • The compliance rate of sampling for imported food on the market of high impact will be 97.5% in 2020
  • The compliance rate of sampling for domestically produced food on the market of high impact will be 92% in 2020

(2) Enhance and strengthen the Five-point Food Safety Policy and relevant actions

(3) Protect food safety by uniting government management, industrial self-regulation and public participation