Taiwan’s New Documentation Requirements for Japanese Food

On 13 Apr 2015, Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) made two advance announcements detailing the new documentation requirements of Japanese food products which should be officially released in the coming several weeks and will take effect 30 days after the release date.

TFDA states that products from Fukushima, Chiba, Gumma, Ibaraki and Tochigi will be temporarily suspended as before. The new documentation requirements will be imposed on products imported from other regions of Japan, which mandate the presence of a certificate of origin and a radiation-free certificate attached to each batch of Japanese food products. Specifications on the radiation-free certificate shall be illustrated in the official release later on. For the certificate of origin, the specific prefecture shall be detailed and meet any of the following criteria:

• A certificate of origin issued by Japanese authorities

• A valid certificate issued by Japanese authorities or authorized institutes to demonstrate the origin, or any certificate of origin recognized by TFDA

Before the announcements become effective, products of Japanese origin will continue to receive stringent inspections upon arrival in Taiwan.  Inspections will focus on fresh/chilled fruit and vegetable, frozen fruit and vegetable, fresh/chilled live aquatic products, frozen aquatic products, dairy products, infant products, mineral water or drinking water, seaweed products and tea products.