萬國法律事務所

With the recent news of poisonous starch and illegal food additives sold in the market, Taiwan’s Legislative Yuan has rushed to complete a new amendment to the Food Sanitation Act before recess, finishing the process in three days.

With respect to food labeling, the amendments require that all chemical additives and the percentage of all ingredients be specified on labels, so as to enhance the transparency of such relevant information for consumers. This new rule, compared to the current requirements, clarifies the content labeling requirements under Articles 17 and 17-1 of the current Food Sanitation Act. Administrative fines for false or insufficiently clear labeling have been raised from between NT$ 30,000 and NT$ 150,000 NTD to between NT$ 30,000 to NT$ 3,000,000.

In order to deal with the recent series of food safety issues, the Legislative Yuan seeks to increase the overall penalty for violations involving the illegal use of unauthorized additives. A person or entity that illegally uses unauthorized additives may now be subject to an administrative fine in an amount between NT$ 60,000 and NT$ 15,000,000, based on the seriousness of the violation.

Criminal sanctions have also been added against food product producers that are involved in the illegal use of unauthorized additives. If a company is found to be illegally adding unauthorized additives, the legal representative of the company may be sentenced to as many as three years in prison, with fines of up to NT$ 8,000,000. If a death results from such act, the legal representative may be sentenced to life imprisonment or imprisonment of no less than seven years, with fines of up to NT$ 20,000,000. If serious injury is been caused by such act, the legal representative may be sentenced to a prison term of no less than three years but no more than ten years, with fines of up to NT$ 15,000,000. In addition, individuals who provide direction or advice on how to use illegal additives may also face a criminal penalty of up to three years of imprisonment, with fines of up to NT$ 8,000,000. The Government can also seek to recover illegal earnings of producers resultant from the illegal use of unauthorized additives.

Additionally, to ease the difficulty consumers face in meeting the burden of proof when seeking compensation, a Consumer Compensation Clause has been inserted, stipulating that when consumers cannot or face difficulty proving the actual amount of damage suffered due to consumption of poisonous food products, the court can decide on compensation in an amount between NT$ 500 and NT$ 20,000, based on the seriousness of the situation.

Relevant provisions regulating so-called junk food have also been included, in which the promotion of junk food through gifts such as toys or commercials airing during children’s programs or before-meal programs are prohibited. Also, any disclosure of inspection results by any entity must state accurately the result of the inspection.

Overall, the amendment is expected to establish stricter rules regarding food additives, especially in regards to the applicable criminal penalties.