Border inspections of imported food and related products in Taiwan from 2011 to 2013

Border inspections of imported food and related products in Taiwan from 2011 to 2013

With inspection of imported food and related products, relevant affairs formerly under the Bureau of Standards, Metrology, and Inspection has returned to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) in accordance with the Regulations of Inspection of Imported Foods and Related Products. These regulations were effective from January 1, 2011 [1]. The border inspection for hygiene and safety of the imported foods was conducted in 12 ports/airports [2]. From 2011 to 2013, 1,396,980 batches of imported food products were inspected and the annual growth rate of imports was 9.8% and 11.5%, respectively, in the past 2 years. The total volume of imported food and related products was approximately 21.87 million metric tons (total value, US 26.96 billion). Of all the imported products, biscuits (7.9%) had the highest proportion, followed by food utensils (7.8%), processed food (6.2%), sauce (6.2%), and candies and chocolates (5.6%). With regard to the imported volume of products, miscellaneous grain crops (42.5%) had the highest proportion, followed by molasses (8.8%), grain product (7.5%), fruits (fresh, chilled, or frozen; 4.7%), edible oil (3.8%), and so on. The top five importing country of origin for batches of food and related products were Japan (22.5%), USA (15.3%), Mainland China (10.6%), Thailand (7.2%), and Vietnam (4.9%). Besides, the main countries of origin of the products imported were USA (36.1%), Brazil (13.5%), Thailand (10.3%), Australia (7.2%), and Mainland China (5.4%), contributing to 72.5% of the total imported volume. However, based on cost (insurance and freight charges), the United States occupied the first position (33.2%), followed by Brazil (13.3%), Australia (6.9%), New Zealand (5.9%), and Thailand (5.5%).