Taiwan Promulgated New Border Inspection Procedure for Imported Foods

On March 20, 2014, TFDA promulgated a new regulation standardizing the border inspection procedures for imported foods. Offices in Jilong Port, Taoyuan Airport, Taizhong Port and Gaoxiong Port have been established to deal with border inspection of all imported foods.

Under this regulation once the TFDA accepts an inspection application for imported foods, an automated information system will identify the relative risk level of the products. The products will be cleared through customs after examination of product specifications and labelling, product inspection at port, and sample testing. The detailed inspection sequence is outlined in the following flow diagram:

Flow Chart of Imported Food Inspection Application

According to Article 30 of Act Governing Food Sanitation, all importers of foods, food additives, food utensils and food containers should apply to the TFDA for inspection and provide declarations for all relevant product information. Foods that fail to pass inspection will be rejected or destroyed at port. Under the new regulations the number of products inspected will also increase dramatically and importers can expect almost 100% of all imports to be inspected.