Taiwan councilor slams 'slap on the wrist' fine for formaldehyde rice noodles

Hsinchu City has fined Ming Hao Enterprise NT$120,000 for selling rice noodles contaminated with formaldehyde. The penalty has drawn sharp criticism from city councilor Yang Ling-yi, who argues the fine is insufficient and allows the company to act with impunity.

Yang Ling-yi expressed frustration that nearly two months after the food safety scandal broke, the Hsinchu City Health Bureau has failed to clarify the source and cause of the formaldehyde contamination. The bureau has also not identified the affected product batches or their distribution. Furthermore, the refusal to release inspection reports has created widespread anxiety among rice noodle producers and damaged the industry's reputation.

The councilor lambasted the NT$120,000 fine, imposed on the grounds of a first offense, as "a slap on the wrist." She accused the city government under Mayor Kao Hung-an of treating citizens' food safety lightly, enabling companies like Ming Hao Enterprise, reportedly linked to Kao, to operate recklessly. Yang pointed out that out of 4,740 packages of formaldehyde-tainted rice noodles produced, only 867 were recalled, leaving nearly 80% potentially consumed by the public.

The Hsinchu City Health Bureau stated that the fine was levied according to the "Food Safety and Sanitation Act." The NT$120,000 fine covers seven violations, with the first incurring NT$60,000 and subsequent ones adding NT$10,000 each. The bureau also ordered the company to cease production, sales, and distribution, and to seal affected products. An additional NT$60,000 fine is pending for violations of Article 8, related to product labeling or information, with a follow-up inspection scheduled based on the company's improvement efforts.

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The fine of NT$120,000, justified by a first offense, is a slap on the wrist and a light punishment. Mayor Kao Hung-an's administration is treating citizens' food safety as a game, which is why Ming Hao Enterprise, linked to Kao, acts with such impunity.