President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of June 11 oversaw the destruction of tainted food products containing banned plasticizers at the refuse incinerator in Xizhou Township in Changhua County. Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義), Minister of Health Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達), Environmental Protection Administration Minister Stephen Shu-hung Shen (沈世宏), and Changhua County Magistrate Cho Po-yuan (卓伯源) accompanied the president. Similar events to destroy tainted food products were held in New Taipei City, Hsinchu County, Taichung City, Miaoli County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Kaohsiung City, and Hualien County at the same time. In all, some 300 tonnes of products tainted with plasticizers were destroyed.
President Ma noted at the site that the Department of Health (DOH) on May 19 began a crackdown on food products containing the banned additives. Government units have acted in accordance with the principles of "actively uncovering problems, rapidly dealing with them, cooperating with investigations, and keeping the public informed." Immediately upon discovering tainted food products, the products are traced to the source, and evidence is collected to help law enforcement officials punish those responsible. Consequently, adequate evidence will have been collected by the time any public announcement is made. This enables authorities to immediately apprehend suspects, thereby alleviating any concerns about delays in detaining alleged wrongdoers, he said.
President Ma stressed that the government needs to do a good job on three different fronts: regulating food products at the source; implementing a set of coordinated measures (such as a food traceability system); and conducting thorough investigations followed up by heavy punishments. He added that manufactures must maintain ethical business practices. The president specifically mentioned I-Mei Foods, which he visited on June 10, as a company that, before purchasing ingredients, will check whether their upstream suppliers have previously sold products at suspiciously low prices or otherwise engaged in questionable behavior. I-Mei also carries out laboratory tests on the ingredients it purchases to guarantee the quality of its products. President Ma remarked that the government and food companies must work together to rebuild confidence and restore the reputation of the industry. In addition to tighter regulation of food additive manufacturers by the government, companies themselves must better manage themselves, he said, adding that this is the only way to rebuild confidence and restore credibility.
President Ma also clarified the use of the term "D-Day" regarding the fight against tainted food products, explaining that by designating May 31 as "D-Day," the DOH meant it as the day to commence action, not the day for a "mission accomplished" statement. After gaining a clear understanding of the sources of the tainted foods, the DOH still needs time to clear the market of tainted products. For instance, there have recently been discoveries of tainted products that were imported from companies overseas, he said, which will require further regulatory and legislative measures. No matter what the circumstances, however, the government will handle the issue judiciously and is not afraid of having scandals publicized. This is crucial if we are to rebuild the public confidence in Taiwan's food products and restore the credibility of products made in Taiwan, he said.