Control Yuan reprimands Taiwan FDA over Sudan dyes inspection failings

Taipei, June 29 (CNA) Taiwan's top government watchdog issued a formal reprimand to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Sunday for lapses in border inspection procedures that allowed chili powder contaminated with toxic "Sudan dyes" into the country in recent years.

According to the Control Yuan, six food companies imported 28 batches of chili powder containing Sudan dyes between 2022 and February 2024, totaling 280,000 kilograms.

Authorities traced the shipments and removed more than 700,000 kilograms of contaminated products, the Control Yuan said.

The case that triggered the food safety furor involved Sudan dyes detected by Yunlin County officials in a chili powder product made by Chiseng Hong Ltd. at its plant in Yunlin County's Douliu City.

The raw ingredient had been imported by Bao Hsin Enterprises Co. in New Taipei from Sanhe Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. in Henan Province, China.

Control Yuan members Tien Chiu-chin (田秋堇) and Tsai Chung-yi (蔡崇義) said that although the Taiwan FDA had received international alerts about Sudan dyes before 2023, most of the contaminated shipments were not adequately inspected.

In a written response to CNA the same day, the Taiwan FDA announced three new measures to prevent such inspection failures from reoccurring.

The first measure will require imported chili powder and dried chilis to be accompanied by certification that the goods are free of Sudan dyes, the FDA said.

If the dyes are detected at the border, the overseas manufacturer's imports will be suspended, it said.

The second measure mandates the destruction of any contaminated products and the implementation of one year of 100-percent batch-by-batch inspections on the same products from the same country.

The third measure will place all importers and affiliated companies found violating Sudan dye rules under intensified monitoring for six months, regardless of the product's origin.