The Taiwan authorities have announced that starting from the 21st, all restrictions on the import of food from Fukushima, Japan will be fully lifted. In response to criticism from opposition parties, the Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare Food and Drug Administration (FDA) stated that this decision is unrelated to the controversy caused by remarks about a so-called “Taiwan contingency.”
On September 1, the Taiwan FDA posted on its official website that, as long as testing results continue to meet standards, Taiwan will fully lift restrictions on the import of food products from Fukushima, Japan.
On Friday, the FDA released the above announcement on its official website, stating that according to information released by the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Japanese government has already implemented appropriate monitoring and responsive measures, and has continuously updated domestic food controls based on monitoring results, effectively managing the safety of the food supply chain.
Since 2011, Taiwan has conducted border radiation inspections on more than 270,000 batches of Japanese food, with a non-compliance rate of zero. Furthermore, based on scientific data, the FDA's additional radiation exposure risk assessment for Japanese food is “negligible.” To ensure the safety of food for the Taiwanese public and in accordance with the principles of scientific evidence while aligning with international practices, the FDA is planning to return the management of Japanese food to source control and border inspection.
Currently, the only countries in the world that still have specific restrictions on Japanese food are mainland China (including Hong Kong and Macau), Russia, and South Korea.