Crime
IGEM: Most of the food scandals affect consumers’ health after consumers have been eating the products after years. How the manufacturers’ lawyer to defend the food company in the lawsuit? And how to prevent them from finding loopholes?
Lawyer: Manufacturers’ lawyers mostly counsel ” They know nothing about it” or ” The product is edible and has no harm.”
But in recent years, judicial decisions adopt the causality of epidemiology such as the RCA case. For details, see lawyer Chia-Chen Houng’s article.
IGEM: Have you ever engaged in any lawsuit about food safety and what was the result?
Lawyer: I have engaged the case of TSC feed protein powder with inferior pseudo-charge CNS and high-quality protein powder. (Please refer to Tainan branch of the Taiwan High Court back 2012 under No. 5 civil judgments)
IGEM: Does limit the manufacturer’s owner or person in charge should not engage in the same industry in the future whether the damage to the right to work or the right to freedom of protection?
Lawyer: Restricting someone can “never” engage in the same industry may be adjudicated violating the constitution by the grand justice. But every industry
Restrictions on anyone shall not engage in the same industry “forever” may be subject to a judge declared unconstitutional. Referring to Literacy reference number 584 that taxi drivers have a criminal record restricted case.
Any industry or people working in particular industry may have the different extent of public interest and or national people’s health and safety so it can’t be generalized.
IGEM: If the employee of the oil producer knows the violations of law but didn’t report to the authority, does he/she have legal responsibility?
Lawyer: Yes. Guilty of intentional assault involving serious injury or guilty of the crime of omission
IGEM: Since the development of food safety law so far, if food industry and safeguard the interests of the people are more equitable?
Lawyer: Not sure. Because the Litigation of Ting Hsin International Group’s case is pending. So companies still wait and see.
Management
IGEM: Can the government budget more money for TFDA for food safety & sanitary administrations so that the authority can carry out more complete inspections on Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries and processed foods in order to enhance the situation that manufacturers manage by themselves nowadays? In the ground, can this ensure food safety?
Lawyer: Food scandals not only happened in Taiwan. Although America
has legislated the Pure Drug and Safety Act since 1906 Theodore
Roosevelt headed the administration, but only for the food and
pharmaceutical labeling is not real and pseudo Hunchong mix afterwards
regulate claims. This led to the serious food scandal- the Elixer case in
1937, unscrupulous manufacturers used raw materials to produce asphalt cold
syrup, this resulted in hundreds of American died. FDA therefore put a lot of manpower and resources to control drug and food safety. It is generally believed that the FDA review of the drug density norms and regulation make drug safety a considerable goodness listed checks. But food, health products and medical devices and other types of control is relatively loose, resulting in the issue of food security in recent years is also slowed by controversy. Therefore the United States setup a series of production records system from farm to table since 1997 in order to ensure further safeguard public health.
The US FDA budgeted 4.9 billion to check the Food and Drug Safety for 2016. Consumers spend a dollar each on food and medicine one year, which is related to at least one fifth of healthy and medicine from FDA budget. Americans contributed an average of eight dollars per year to the FDA.
Nevertheless, food hygiene and safety standards, with the times, social, cultural, historical, geographical factors have different differences. Government agencies need to have sufficient budget to carry out effective food safety management, but the budget must come from adequate tax and corporate feedback or fines. Therefore regular amend and review law & regulations are required to improve the legal system and judicial decisions for the environment change and revolution.
IGEM: Does any loophole for the recycled oil to return under law/regulation? Is there any law/regulation to enforce domestic food vendors to return the recycle waste oil? In addition, does the recovery of oil operations staffs have to renew their license on certain period?
Lawyer:The law does not expressly provide, but only at the local level norms. It is worthy study the impact If the mandatory recycling is extremely helpful for the national health, but the industry rebounded significantly. Currently the system is vendors run business with the document for oil , if the vendor has no certified document then can be fined and punished. For the time being it has a valid work permit unified till end of this year. It should be valid & certified regularly.
IGEM: Is Food Safety management attributable to the central or local government?
Lawyer: Article 2 of Taiwan Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation
“ For purposes of this Act, the term "competent authority" shall mean the competent health and welfare authority at the central government level, the municipal governments at the municipal level, and the county/city governments at the county/city level.”
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Article 2-1 To enhance the coordination, monitoring, promotion, and inspection of national food safety affairs, the Executive Yuan shall establish the Food Safety Board. The Premier of the Executive Yuan shall serve as the convener with the participation of the heads of other relevant ministries and commissions, experts, scholars, and representatives of non-governmental organizations to take charge of inter-agency coordination for the food safety risk assessment and management measures as well as establish the alert and auditing system of food safety and sanitation. The Food Safety Board shall meet once at least every three months. When necessary, a temporary meeting may be convened. The convener shall appoint a Minister without Portfolio or a head of ministries and commissions to act as the Chief Executive of the Food Safety Board and the central competent authority shall be in charge of staff affairs.
Each municipal/county/city government shall establish the Food Safety Board; the head of the municipality/county/city shall serve as the convener to take charge of inter-departmental coordination for the food safety management measures. A meeting shall be convened once at least every three months.
Decisions made by the Food Safety Board in Paragraph 1 shall be carried out and implemented in compliance by relevant ministries and commissions. Each quarter the Executive Yuan shall announce the supervision results included in its administrative policies report to the Legislative Yuan every year.
The regulations governing the formation, tasks, parliamentary procedures and other matters to be complied with for such Food Safety Board in Paragraph 1 shall be prescribed by the Executive Yuan.
IGEM: Is Flag system perfect now? Whether it can maintain security mechanisms denounced human rights?
Lawyer: Article 43 of Taiwan Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation “The competent authority shall keep strictly confidential the particulars of, and may grant reward to, anyone informing against foods, food additives, food utensils, food containers or packaging, food cleansers, labels, promotional materials, advertisements or food businesses that are found to have violated the provisions of this Act. If civil services disclose the confidential information, they will be punished with criminal and administrative responsibilities.
The regulations governing the jurisdiction of the complaints received by the competent authority, processing time period, confidentiality, reward to informant and other matters to be complied with mentioned in the preceding paragraph shall be prescribed by the central competent authority.
Confidentiality of identity of informants in Paragraph 1 shall be subject to the same requirements by throughout litigation procedures.”
IGEM: When the manufacturer up to a certain standard size then it will be required to be conducted inspection by the government authority . If this will give the opportunity to manufacturers to circumvent responsibility that may encourage manufacturer to small size to skip the authority’s audit conduction?
Lawyer: It is possible. But such behaviors may be accused of fraud or violate the label rules.
IGEM: If the employee report the employer’s illegal behavior and lose his/her job then how the Government to protect workers' interests?
Lawyer: Taiwan’s LSL (Labor Standard Law) guaranteed severance pay and dismissal must comply with the legal reasons only legitimate reason.
IGEM: Whether Taiwan can establish such European food production traceability system?
Lawyer: Yes, but it is very costly. Needs Ministry of Health & Welfare works with and COA (Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan)
