Amid concerns over banned dye found in chili powder imported from China, all 22 administrative regions have temporarily suspended the use of chili and curry powder in school lunches effective immediately.
Local authorities in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Taichung, Keelung, Yilan County, Hsinchu County, Hsinchu City, Miaoli County, Changhua County, Nantou County, Yunlin County, Chiayi City and Taitung announced the provisional ban on Wednesday evening, citing concerns over food safety.
They were followed by the remaining eight administrations yesterday.
Photo: Hsu Li-chuan, Taipei Times
From Feb. 9 to Sunday, a total of 15 shipments of chili powder imported from China were found to contain Sudan dyes, resulting in the recall of 122,588.4kg of chili powder and related food products, such as curry powder.
Sudan dyes are a group of industrial dyes consisting of several red colors which are listed as toxic chemical substances by the Ministry of Environment’s Chemicals Administration.
Taipei’s suspension is to be in effect until March 31, and providers of school lunches in the city are banned from using not only the two seasoning powders, but also curry cubes.
Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) made an impromptu inspection of an elementary school kitchen yesterday, saying the city would check upstream suppliers and impose strict penalties if any are found to have broken the law.
Meanwhile, the New Taipei City Education Department suspended the use of chili powder and curry powder in school lunches for three months, with a later reassessment to determine whether to lift the ban.
Education authorities in Taichung and Changhua County did not specify an end date to their suspensions, but said a decision would be made after the situation is reviewed.
The Tainan and Kaohsiung city governments yesterday said the ban would be in effect at least until the end of this month and would also extend to other public institutions, such as social welfare organizations, medical institutions, hospices and long-term care centers.
Tainan vowed to conduct reviews on a rolling basis, while Kaohsiung said it would “check ingredient use in organizations to ensure public food safety.”
Additional reporting by Chu Lan-hui
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