GMO Foods in Restaurants and Hotels to be Regulated
The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced on 11 August 2015 that new regulations will enter into force on 31 December 2015, which will require restaurants and hotels to indicate in their menus food that is made with or uses GMO ingredients, such as genetically modified soybeans, corn, cotton, and rapeseed.
To protect the public's right to know what they are eating, since 2014, the TFDA has required packaged food be labeled with phrases indicating that the food is either "genetically-modified", "with genetic modification", or that "genetically modified (organisms) are used", or other types of more sophisticated statements. However, as the current regulations do not cover all food ingredients, starting from July 2015, TFDA extended the labeling requirements from covering packaged foods to prepackaged foods, food additives, and unpacked foods. Still, the regulations fail to cover food served in the restaurants or hotels. Therefore, TFDA announced that restaurants and hotels will be required to label the food they serve starting 31 December 2015.
After the most updated regulations become effective, failure to comply with the new regulations will subject violators to a fine in an amount between NT$ 30,000 and NT$ 3 million. Those using false labels will be fined an amount between NT$ 40,000 and NT$ 4 million.
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