President Ma Ying-jeou called a meeting on the evening of June 8 at the Presidential Office Building to hear briefings on the latest developments and handling of the plasticizer food additive issue that has triggered a food safety scare here. Heads of related agencies under the Executive Yuan were assembled to discuss measures being taken to restore confidence in food safety.
In his opening remarks, the president noted that two unethical manufacturers had made illegal use of plasticizers in emulsifiers that are added to food products, causing serious damage to the image of Taiwan food manufacturers and the ROC as a whole. To date, over 400 mid-stream and downstream companies have been found to have used the plasticizers, and it is possible that the tainted products were used in over 900 food products.
President Ma stated that since the scandal broke three weeks ago, government investigations and raids have yielded sufficient results to carry out a preliminary review of what has come to light. In addition to examining where there might be room for improvement in law enforcement actions and public disclosures, the president said it is even more important that we figure out how to prevent similar incidents from recurring.
The president remarked that, while many food and health experts found the use of plasticizers as a food additive unthinkable, the fact is that the unthinkable has occurred, so the government must find a way to ensure that such events will not happen again. Toward that end, he called upon government agencies to pool their collective wisdom to formulate response measures that will bring this disaster to a conclusion in as short a time as possible, and restore consumer confidence. This is an unshirkable responsibility of the government, he said.
After the meeting, the president issued 10 directives aimed at examining the plasticizer incident and formulating measures for the future.
A. Examining the plasticizer incident:
1. The presence of plasticizers in food was first discovered by Ms. Yang Mingyu , a technical specialist at the Department of Health (DOH) who went beyond the call of duty to pinpoint the contaminant. The Executive Yuan, local governments, and law enforcement agencies then sprang into action after comprehensive preparations, carrying out investigations and raids. Officials showed a sense of responsibility and honesty in releasing information to the public, and are working aggressively to take legal action against those who should be held accountable. This highlights the government's determination to ensure food safety and protect the health of the public.
2. The DOH has convened an ad hoc task force to carry out a thorough check as soon as possible and to gain a clear understanding of the situation. Task force officials are working to identify the sources of the plasticizer and where tainted products have been sold. In addition, May 31 was designated as D-Day, from which time all tainted products that include plasticizers were to be removed from store shelves. As of 6:00 p.m. on June 6, a total of 13,667 manufacturers had been inspected and 21,488 types of items had been taken off shelves. The president asked the DOH to continue stepping up its efforts on this front.
B. Measures for the future: The president stated that agencies continue working to uncover tainted products, and are guided in their work by the following principles: "take the initiative to uncover problems; deploy appropriate manpower; deal quickly with cases; take aggressive law enforcement action; keep the public informed; and eliminate concerns." The president said that preliminary results have been achieved, and that the next stage should focus on preventing similar situations from recurring. Measures to be taken will include the following:
1. Regulate food products at the source and enforce tough certification standards: In the future, when the government grants Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) certification to food additive manufacturers, the scope of inspections must be broadened, and standard operating procedures must be formulated. We must learn a lesson from this incident, said the president, to ensure that the public can trust GMP-certified factories. This will enable the public to consume food without fear.
2. Destroy tainted foods and restore confidence: The DOH must ensure that the tainted food products will not re-enter the market. At the same time, public’s concerns must be assuaged so that they can feel confident that any food allowed on store shelves is entirely safe. In preparation for the possibility that tainted foods could still be discovered and seized, the government must set up a comprehensive database and destroy such items.
3. Severe punishment for manufacturers who show no concern for the health of the public: The Ministry of Justice must continue to thoroughly investigate the trail of all plasticizer products and uncover all the manufacturers of such items. Persons responsible should be prosecuted severely under the law, and be punished for harming the nation and society. In addition, no loopholes, such as vending machines or remote areas, should be left uncovered as we work to follow the trail of the tainted products.
4. Actively respond to the public's health concerns and claims for damages, and provide assistance: Experts should provide guidance to the public. For instance, experts should instruct people who have ingested tainted products for long periods of time on how to expel the toxins from their bodies or take other measures to ensure their health. The DOH has already set up clinics, and should continue to provide related health care information and knowledge.
5. Instruct the Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) to act swiftly to regulate toxic chemicals at the source: We must track toxic materials and inform the public of the types of controls placed on plasticizers, the levels of these controls, and related regulatory measures. This will allow the public to clearly understand the proper use of plastics and packaging materials.
6. Exercise of tighter regulation of foods, agricultural products, fish, and livestock products at the source by the DOH, the Council of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs: We must establish a food traceability system, strengthen regulation of food additives and food manufacturers, and put top priority on establishing a food safety and traceability system for high-risk products.
7. Instruct the Ministry of Economic Affairs to deal with the impact of the incident on international trade: The MOEA will provide timely assistance to food makers that have been affected, and will meet with related agencies in an active effort to improve the GMP and CAS (Certified Agricultural Standards) systems and restore the credibility of food products made in Taiwan.
8. An amendment to the Act Governing Food Sanitation currently under deliberations at the Legislative Yuan should be passed as soon as possible: The amendment will impose heavier penalties on companies that illegally use plasticizers, which will hopefully deter such conduct in the future. The DOH will also actively draft further legal amendments to help create an even more comprehensive food safety regulatory system and institute better preventive measures.
Noting that the cross-ministrial meetings for food safety instituted by the Executive Yuan in 2009 are held every half year, President Ma commented that such meetings should be held more frequently. Even though law enforcement action on the plasticizer incident is nearing an end, we cannot let down our guard, he said, since there could still be scattered incidents in which tainted products make their way onto the market. The cross-ministrial meetings for food safety can serve as a platform for handling such matters.
President Ma stated that the Legislative Yuan plans to invite Premier Wu Den-yih to deliver a report to the legislature on this issue. The premier, on behalf of the government, will report to the legislature on how the incident has been handled so far, and what methods are to be adopted in the future. The president added that this will serve as a good opportunity to explain the issues at hand, and to express the government's regret over this incident. President Ma stressed that even though the use of the plasticizers as a food additive began before he took office in May 2008, and has been going on for quite a long period of time, he is responsible for events that take place on his watch. The government will get to the root of the problem, and make sure that the manufacturers are held responsible. Government employees involved in handling this issue must work in unity to stamp out tainted food products, he said, not only to restore public faith in food safety, but also to rebuild the credibility of the "Made in Taiwan" label on the international market.
Among those attending the meeting were Vice President Vincent C. Siew, National Security Council Secretary-General Hu Wei-jen (胡為真), Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Vice Premier Sean C. Chen (陳冲), Executive Yuan Secretary-General Lin Join-sane (林中森), Minister without Portfolio Cyrus C.Y. Chu (朱敬一), Minister of Finance Lee Sush-der (李述德), Minister of Justice Tseng Yung-fu (曾勇夫), Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang (施顏祥), Minister of Health Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達), Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen (沈世宏), Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Wu-hsiung (陳武雄), Government Information Office Minister Philip Y.M. Yang (楊永明), Deputy Health Minister Hsiao Mei-ling (蕭美玲), Food and Drug Administration Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲), Kuomintang Central Policy Committee Director Lin Yi-shih (林益世), and Kuomintang Legislative Caucus Whip Hsieh Kuo-liang (謝國樑) .