- Date:2018-01-21
- Department:Chemicals Administration Ministry of Environment
On 7 December 2017, the Executive Yuan’s Office of Food Safety held the 2017 Food Safety Management Review Meeting. Related agencies such as the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW), the Council of Agriculture (COA), the Ministry of Education (MOE), and the EPA attended the meeting. The review meeting aimed to jointly evaluate food safety management achievements and improve performance in the future by listening to opinions from all sectors. The Executive Yuan’s Office of Food Safety invited the members of the Executive Yuan’s Food Safety Committee, scholars and experts, legislators, civic groups, representatives from industry organizations, and citizens to the 2017 Food Safety Management Review Meeting. The meeting was also broadcast live on the Facebook pages of the COA and the MOHW’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In the meeting, ideas on school lunches, pesticide control, and at-source management of chemical substances with food safety concerns were discussed. On the topic of “Environmental Monitoring and At-Source Management for Chemicals with Food Safety Risks”, the EPA’s Toxic and Chemical Substances Bureau (TCSB) presented related achievements. For instance, the EPA has established an at-source control mechanism and worked to maintain safe production environments since the establishment of the TCSB. Soil, drinking water and effluents are all tested and verified that they are up to standard. All industrial chemical products are under the EPA’s management, and inspections and warnings will occur once an abnormal flow of products is found. Manufacturing processes are also well controlled to prevent improper usage of industrial chemical products. In 2017, a total of 2,196 chemical substance suppliers were selected for auditing.
Besides ensuring close cooperation of the central and local governments, the Executive Yuan continues to strengthen collaboration across different agencies, and to upgrade the platform linking the executive and judicial branches on investigations into food- or medicine-related offences. Meanwhile, governmental, industrial, and civic organizations are also joining forces to improve at-source management and tighten audits and testing for agricultural and food safety through big data analysis. All of this is done to carry out the five major food safety policies to the fullest, in order to maintain high standards for food safety and sanitation.
Chemical substance management Four Musts for keeping food safety
Source: EPA Environmental Policy Monthly, p.3-4, Vol. XXI, Issue 1, 2018
