Toxic Oil Food Safety Crisis: Legislation Finalized! Central Command Center Established, Failure to Report Within 24 Hours Penalized Up to NT$30 Million

The Executive Yuan today (23rd) finalized the draft amendments to the Food Safety and Hygiene Management Act, proposed by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW). The revised law allows the central competent authority to establish a Food Safety Incident Command Center during major or sudden food safety events. Local city and county authorities are now required to report incidents to the central government and coordinate responses under the command center's direction.

Food businesses that discover safety issues in their products must immediately halt manufacturing, processing, and sales, and initiate product recalls. They are also required to report the incident to their local city or county authority within 24 hours of discovery. Failure to stop production, conduct recalls, or report within the stipulated timeframe—or submitting false reports—will result in fines ranging from NT$30,000 to NT$30 million. Additionally, a new asset preservation mechanism has been introduced to prevent violators from hiding or transferring assets to evade penalties.

The MOHW stated that recent oil-related food safety incidents revealed gaps in industry self-inspection, laboratory management, abnormality reporting, and third-party verification. The amendment revises a total of 17 articles. Under the revised law, food businesses meeting certain categories and scales must submit their food safety monitoring plans for approval by the central authority. Laboratories operated by food businesses are also required to report inspection data to a government-designated system within 24 hours of issuing a report.

According to Article 7 of the revised act, food businesses must immediately cease manufacturing, processing, and sales, and initiate recalls upon discovering any food safety risks in raw materials, semi-finished, or finished products. They must report the incident to local authorities within 24 hours. If local authorities assess a potential for wider impact, they must escalate the report to the central government.

Violations of Article 7, Paragraph 5—such as failing to halt operations, conduct recalls, or report within the deadline, or providing false information—will incur fines from NT$30,000 to NT$30 million. Violations of Paragraph 2 of the same article—including failure to conduct self-inspections, regular testing, laboratory setup, or timely and accurate reporting—will result in fines from NT$30,000 to NT$3 million. The central authority will also define the scope, procedures, and conditions for product removal and relisting after the issue is resolved.

The MOHW noted that while existing regulations cover food manufacturing, processing, import, and sales, responsibilities for online food retailers have been unclear, hindering the removal of illegal product information and enforcement. The amendment now requires internet service providers to exercise due diligence as responsible managers. Upon notification from the competent authority, they must restrict access to or remove illegal content within two business days.

Premier Cho Jung-tai emphasized that the amendment is built on five core principles: strengthening source management, production process oversight, abnormality reporting, quality control, and digital governance. He instructed the MOHW to enhance communication with all stakeholders, incorporate feedback from ministries and local governments, finalize consensus on the draft, and immediately begin drafting subordinate regulations to fully implement the food safety protection framework.