In news from and about Taiwan this morning,

The Cabinet has proposed legal revisions to the Act Governing Food Safety and
Sanitation.

The move will require large food manufacturers to notify authorities of
anomalies detected in product inspections within 24-hours of discovering, or
being informed of them.

Companies that fail to notify authorities within that timeframe will face a
fine of up to 30-million N-T.

Other proposed revisions include stipulations that food companies above a
certain size and in designated categories be required to regularly submit
ingredients, semi-finished products and finished products to certified
inspection facilities.

Food manufacturers that fail to submit required samples to certified
inspection facilities will face a fine of up to 3-million N-T.

The revisions also authorize local governments to conduct unannounced
inspections and collect samples at food companies' manufacturing, processing,
transportation, storage, packaging and vending facilities.

The move is part of the government's efforts to crackdown on food safety
violations following the discover of a excessive levels of a carcinogen in
cooking oil produced by Central Union Oil Corporation.

More than 1,300 businesses have been affected by the tainted oil, and more
than 500 products have been pulled from store shelves.

The proposals will now be submitted to the Legislative Yuan for review.