New regulations on organic food and beverage products have been announced by the Agriculture and Food Agency of the Council of Agriculture in Taiwan.
The Council has authorised imports of certified organic farm produce and processed agricultural goods from 18 countries with the new requirements now being enforced.
All organic food and beverage products are required to be certified by the Council.
For imported organic products, the local importers will need to include a serial number approved by the COA on the Chinese label for each product on a batch basis.
The director of the COA’s Agriculture and Food Agency, Mr Chen Wen-Teh said that from 1 August, those who “fail to faithfully and correctly label their farm produce and processed products will face fines ranging between NT$30,000 and NT$300,000”.
Exporters of organic products are advised to contact their importers about the implications of the new regulations and labelling requirements.
Importers may require additional information in order to complete the paperwork and there could also be compliance costs that will need to be discussed.