Taiwan clears more than 300 food items feared to be radiation contaminated

Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared around 300 food products that had been imported under false pretenses from areas near the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant.

The 286 products, which had been imported by 13 Taiwanese companies, were believed to have been produced in the Fukushima, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma or Chiba prefectures.

Food products from all these regions have been banned since the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant disaster in 2011.

The Taipei Times reported FDA senior specialist Wang Te-yuan as saying that the number of Japanese food products tested for radioactive content exceeded the number of food items that were believed to have been imported with false origin labelling.

The country is currently in the process of recalling all problematic products, which will be complete by 27 March, midnight.

The country went through a radiation scare after the administration discovered two soy sauce products imported by a trading firm based in Taipei. Officials from the health Department said that Sheng Yu imported soy sauce labeled "Tokyo-made" last month, from one of the regions that feature on the banned list.

Following the food scare, authorities inspected warehouses in New Taipei City belonging to food companies including Li Tuo, Sun Friend and Tai Crown.

Close to 104.4 tonnes of the allegedly illegally imported foodstuffs have been sealed and confiscated, currently awaiting further investigation.

According to the current law, any individual or company to import food products from one of the five regions, or who files false customs declaration papers, could be fined between $955 and $95,526.