The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has found 15 more food products from blacklisted areas of Japan on sale in Taiwan.
Food products from five Japanese prefectures have been banned in Taiwan since 2011 due to fears of radition in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear disaster. However, according to the latest figures, the FDA has recently found 299 products from these areas being sold with falsified place of origin labels.
Local health departments have ordered a recall of the products. They are also reportedly continuing to track down the companies responsible for the illegal import of the products. As of Thursday, around 20 metric tons of Japanese food products had been removed from shelves in Taiwan.
FDA chief Chiang Yu-mei said Friday that her administration has sent a total of 401 Japanese food products for analysis, but so far none have turned up signs of radiation.
Chiang also responded to media reports that Taiwan’s customs inspection agency is chronically understaffed, with just 45 people left to deal with the 600,000 food products declared daily. Chiang said that the government has deployed more people to assist with the search for illegal food products on March 19, and that there is no shortage of inspectors.