Chicken meat is one of the daily necessities and in order to strengthen the management over frozen and refrigerated meat, the Council of Agriculture announced on January 26th, 2013 that the enzyme inspection method will serve as the only inspection and certification method for this chicken meat product. Based on the guiding principle of executive synchronization, agencies such as Ministry of Health and Welfare, Ministry of Economic Affairs, and Consumer Protection Committee have all come together in integrating the said inspection into legislations and regulations. The COA also invited 8 leading retail chains to attend an information seminar on February 24th. Beginning from March, retail stores which fail to comply with the new regulation demanding proper labeling of chicken meat products are given a probation period to correct the violations. If those violations were not corrected after the deadline expires, stores may face fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$1.5 million.

Frozen and refrigerated meat segregation is vital to the well-being of both consumers and farmers

The COA further explained that after Taiwan joined the WTO, almost all of the imported chicken meat is frozen, whereas domestically produced chicken meat is mostly refrigerated. However, if frozen and refrigerated meat is not labeled accordingly or as in some cases, frozen meat thawed to be sold as refrigerated meat and was not properly indicated, would lead to consumers repeatedly freeze and thaw the meat. Not only does this cycle decrease the quality of the meat but also increase food safety risks. Moreover, according to the current food safety law, the country of origin should be clearly labeled. Since the cost of imported meat is usually lower than that of domestic meat, there is not a clear distinction between thawed frozen meat and refrigerated meat on the market. Therefore, without precise identification and labeling, the matter might create confusion for customers and raise concerns of consumer deception. The Council thus listed the frozen and refrigerated meat segregation as crucial work to ensure the well-being of all consumers and farmers.

Thawed frozen meat and refrigerated meat on display should be clearly labeled and segregated

The COA also pointed out that the proper core temperature for frozen chicken meat should be maintained at below -18 ℃ . Meat thawed by rewarming to be sold in room temperature or refrigerator should be labeled as "unfrozen" meat. As for the refrigeration chicken meat, the core temperature should be maintained between -2 ℃ to 7 ℃ and labeled as "refrigerated" meat. The display area for these two types of meat must be distinctively separated to avoid mixture and confusion. The signage can be either card, tag (label), or sign (board) by posting, hanging, placing, sticking with paste, or any other form of clear identification. For tags or labels, the dimension of the words "unfrozen meat" and "refrigerated meat" should be no smaller than 6 millimeters in length and width. For the other forms of signage the measurement for each character should be larger than 2 centimeters.

Chicken meat products without proper label as well as adulterated or mislabeled products can face fines up to NT$1.5 million

The COA added that start from March, CAS certified chicken products will be included for the inspection of refrigerated and frozen meat as well. The products in violation of the regulation will be charged with mislabeling and fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000 each case in accordance with Agricultural Production and Certification Act. Regarding chicken meat products with no labels or mislabeled ones in circulation, they are given a certain period of time to correct, recall, or destroy based on article 36, Consumer Protection Act. If necessary, the manufacturer is ordered to terminate its production, manufacturing and processing services. Any violation without timely improvement or correction could face fines between NT$60,000 and NT$1.5 million according to article 58 of the aforementioned act.