Article 1　 This Self-Government Ordinance is formulated by Tainan City (hereinafter referred to as “the City”) for the purposes of ensuring food safety and protecting consumer rights.

Article 2　The Competent Authority of this Self-Government Ordinance is Tainan City Government (hereinafter referred to as “the Government”), with its authority and responsibility divided as follows:

1.    Public Health Bureau: Conducting the administration, supervision and inspection of food businesses.

2.    Environmental Protection Bureau: Conducting administration of the movement of toxic chemical substances, and the disposal, supervision and inspection of foods that have deteriorated or passed their expiration date.

3.    Education Bureau: Conducting the administration, supervision and inspection of food safety in school campuses.

4.    Agriculture Bureau: Conducting the administration, supervision and inspection of agricultural product producers and agricultural product wholesale markets.

5.    Economic Development Bureau: Conducting the administration, supervision and inspection of businesses engaged in the manufacture and processing of foods, food additives and chemical raw materials.

6.    Market Administration Office: Conducting the administration, supervision and inspection of the food businesses of retail markets, centralized vendor markets, and street vendor clusters.

7.    Police Bureau: Conducting investigation and transfer to prosecuting authorities of cases involving criminal acts by food businesses, and providing support and necessary police assistance when the Government’s agencies carry out inspections or crackdowns.

8.    Department of Information and International Relations: Conducting news releases, liaison, communication, and dissemination of information relating to food safety management.

9.    Department of Legal Affairs: Assisting with legal regulation, administrative appeals, state compensation, and related regulatory business concerning food safety management.

10.Consumer Protection Officers: Handling consumers’ complaints and requests for mediation in consumer disputes, and assisting consumer groups to pursue recourse through legal proceedings.

Article 3　 The term “food businesses” as used in this Self-Government Ordinance means businesses in the City that engage in the production, manufacture, processing, preparation, packaging, transportation, storage, sale, import or export of foods or food additives, or engage in the manufacture, processing, import, export or sale of food utensils, food containers or packaging, or food cleansers.

                  Businesses as referred to in the preceding paragraph include natural persons, corporate juridical persons or organizations that engage in manufacturing, processing, transportation, storage, distribution, marketing, catering, importing, exporting, import-export trade, or other business operation.  

Article 4　 The Government shall establish a Food Safety Joint Inspection Task Force to carry out planning, promotion and supervision of matters related to food safety and the protection of consumer rights

                  The composition and operation of the Food Safety Joint Inspection Task Force as referred to in the preceding paragraph shall be separately prescribed by the Government.

Article 5　 The storage areas of food businesses shall be clearly separated from the areas for goods waiting to be discarded and the areas for returned goods, and each area shall be clearly indicated by a written sign.

                  Food businesses shall regularly check stored foods, and be timely in clearing out foods that have deteriorated or passed their expiration date.

                  Where foods that have deteriorated or passed their expiration date as referred to in the preceding paragraph are waste items, the methods of their clearance and disposal shall be as follows:

1.     The transport, sorting, storage, discharge, methods, equipment and reuse of general waste recycling, clearance and disposal shall comply with the relevant provisions of the Waste Disposal Act.

2.    The disposal of industrial waste, with the exception of that subject to reuse methods, shall be performed by self-clearance and disposal, joint clearance and disposal, commissioned clearance and disposal, or other method of clearance and disposal permitted by the central competent authority for environmental protection.

Article 6　 The City’s Market Administration Office shall administer a record of food businesses that operate in public retail markets and centralized vendor markets.

                  For food businesses that operate in private retail markets and in street vendor clusters, a record shall be administered by a self-management organization or operator, and shall be regularly reported to the City’s Market Administration Office.

Article 7　 Food businesses that engage in the manufacture, import, processing or sale of food additives in the City, when selling food additives, shall provide lawful certificates of origin and explanation of the scope of use of said additives.

                  Where food businesses as referred to in the previous paragraph concurrently undertake the manufacture, processing, preparation, packaging, transportation, storage, sale, import or export of chemical raw materials, their storage areas for food additives and chemical raw materials shall be clearly separated, and each area shall be indicated by a written sign.

Article 7-1   A food imported from Japan that is in circulation in this City may not be legally sold in this City unless not only the country but the prefecture of its origin is also labeled as required.

Article 8　 Where a food business discovers cause for concern that a food from an upstream supplier may be hazardous to consumers’ life, body or health, it shall within 48 hours of making the discovery actively report it to the City’s Bureau of Health.

Article 9　 Where the City’s Bureau of Health receives a report as referred to in the preceding article, it shall carry out a check or take samples for testing in accordance with the law; and before the results of the check or testing are confirmed, it may request the business to voluntarily remove the suspect food from the market.

Article 10　Wholesale markets for agricultural produce shall set rules for conducting pesticide residue testing of fruit and vegetables entering the market, and shall act in accordance with said rules after reporting them to the City’s Bureau of Agriculture.

Article 11　The Government’s Bureau of Agriculture may at regular or irregular intervals test agricultural products, and if it finds them not in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, shall order their producer or possessor to make improvement or cooperate with the taking of samples for testing. When necessary, it may also order such party to cease harvesting, catching, transferring, transporting, or marketing the products.

Article 11-1  Domestic and imported pork products and other related meat products sold in this City shall not contain a detectable level of beta-receptor hormone.

Article 12　Food provided by school campus cooperative stores or for school lunches shall have the testing and certifying mark of the industry, agriculture, or other relevant central competent authority or its certification body; if it does not have the testing and certifying mark, it shall be produced by a factory registered food business or have attached certification of food sanitation standards inspection and conformity or origin, valid for one year.

Article 13　A contractor preparing school meals or providing food for sale in schools shall, on a system platform designated by the central competent authority for education, post information including the current day’s menu, ingredients and portions, and the testing and certifying mark or certification of inspection and conformity or origin as referred to in the preceding Article, and actively disclose this.

Article 14　When the Government’s Bureau of Health deals with the reporting and detection of a major violation of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, then besides maintaining the strict confidentiality of information about the identity of the person reporting the incident, it may also as it sees fit bestow a reward; such reward shall not be lower than fifty percent of the actual amount of money collected as a fine.

                  Regulations concerning major violations of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation and rewards for reporting them, as referred to in the preceding paragraph, shall be separately prescribed by the Government.

Article 15　Violation of the provisions of Article 5 Paragraph 1 or Paragraph 2 by failing to clear out foods that have deteriorated or passed their expiration date, or the provisions of Article 7 Paragraph 2, shall incur a fine of up to NT$100,000 and an order to effect improvement within a prescribed time limit. Failure to fully effect the improvement within the prescribed time limit shall incur an additional fine for each successive instance of failure.

Article 16   Violation of the provisions of Article 7 Paragraph 1, Article 8 or Article 12 shall incur a fine of up to NT$60,000 and an order to effect improvement within a prescribed time limit. Failure to fully effect the improvement within the prescribed time limit shall incur an additional fine for each successive instance of failure.

Article 16-1 Violation of the provisions of Article 7-1 shall incur a fine of not less than NT$ 60,000, nor more than NT$ 100,000. After an order has been made to effect improvement within a prescribed time limit, each failure to fully effect the improvement within the time limit shall incur successive fines.

Article 17　Any one of the following acts, after an order to effect improvement within a prescribed time limit and failure to fully effect the improvement within the time limit, shall incur a fine of up to NT$30,000, and additional fines may be imposed for each successive instance of failure:

1.    Violation of the provisions of Article 6 Paragraph 2, by failing to administer a record of incoming food businesses or failing to present regular reports.

2.    Violation of the provisions of Article 10, by failing to set rules for conducting pesticide residue testing of fruit and vegetables entering the market or failing to act in accordance with said rules.

3.    Violation of the provisions of Article 11, by failing to act in accordance with public announcements or dispositions of the Government’s Bureau of Agriculture.

Article 18　Violation of the provisions of Article 5 Paragraph 3 Subparagraph 1 shall incur a fine of not less than NT$1,200 and not more than NT$6,000 as prescribed by Article 50 of the Waste Disposal Act. Violation of Article 5 Paragraph 3 Subparagraph 2 shall incur a fine of not less than NT$6,000 and not more than NT$30,000 as prescribed by Article 52 of the Waste Disposal Act. After an order has been made to effect improvement within a prescribed time limit, failure to fully effect the improvement within the time limit shall incur successive fines daily for as long as the failure continues.

Article 19　This Self-Government Ordinance is effective from the date of promulgation.