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Article 1
This Act is enacted for the purposes of regulating food demand
and supply, stabilizing food prices, improving food quality and
maintaining the benefits of producers and consumers. Other
applicable laws shall govern matters not provided in this Act.
Article 2
For the purposes of this Act, the term "competent authority"
shall denote the Council of Agriculture, the Executive Yuan.
Article 3
The term "food" shall denote rice, wheat, flour, mixed grains
containing more than 50% rice, and some coarse grains as well
as processed rice products regulated by the competent authority
.
Article 4
The definitions of the following terms of this Act shall be
denoted as follows:
1. Rice: Paddy, brown rice, milled rice, broken rice and other
related rice products.
2. Public stock: Food owned by the government.
3. Food dealers: Profit-seeking business entities, farmers
associations or cooperatives registered as food dealers
pursuant to this Act.
4. Public stock dealers: Food dealers that are commissioned by
the competent authority to handle the collecting, take
custody of, process and distribute public stock.
5. Food business: Business involved in the purchase and sale,
brokerage, warehousing, processing, importation and
exportation of food.
6. Market sale: Behaviors referring to the obtaining of price
for merchandise in a public place with unspecific people.
Article 5
The competent authority, for the purpose of planning food
production and marketing, degree of food self-sufficiency, and
for the establishment of Taiwan food brands, shall devise
plans every year to stabilize food supply, ensure national food
security, and promote farmers’ income and national agriculture
.
Article 5-1
The competent authority, for the purpose of security and
stability of food supply, shall stockpile rice based on the
preceding year’s average consumption and not below the safety
stock level during specific period. The level of safety stock
shall be promulgated by the Executive Yuan.
Article 6
The competent authority, for the purpose of food management,
shall be responsible for making surveys and statistics of the
production, consumption, production cost and market prices of
major foods as well as establishing the data of farm families
and cultivated lands.
The above data of farm families and cultivated lands shall
include the household registration records of family, the land
registration records of cultivated land, the actual cultivators
and cultivation records; the household registration records,
land registration records, tax registration records necessary
for filing purposes can be required of the household, land and
tax offices to provide; the families shall file the information
regarding the actual cultivator and cultivation record.
Article 7
Food shall be exported and imported freely. For the purpose of
national food security, the export or import of food may have
to be restricted. The competent authority shall promulgate the
types, amount, regions, duration, conditions, and methods that
are subjected to restriction.
Prior approval of the competent authority shall be obtained
before the export or import of the restricted food items.
Rice and processed rice products within the quota regulated by
the Customs Import Tariff shall be imported by the competent
authority or imported by the qualified food dealers in
proportions determined by the competent authority.
For quantum over and above the quota, the import of these food
items shall be imported by the qualified food dealers in
accordance with related regulations. For non-qualified food
dealers, they are subject to the prior approval of the
competent authority in accordance with related regulations.
To address the domestic food supply and demand instability on
rice and processed rice products, actual or anticipated, or
other essential situations, the competent authority shall
approve the items that are to be imported. The items shall be
imported at the in-quota tariff rate, while the quantum shall
not be counted as in-quota imports.
Article 8
The competent authority may commission public stock dealers to
collect, store, process and distribute public stock.
The conditions that the public stock dealers and their
warehouses must possess, the collection, storage, processing,
distribution, and other management items for public stock shall
be regulated by the competent authority.
Article 9
During collecting of public stock, the inspection of paddies
shall include foreign matter, moisture content, test weight and
quality. Such standards of inspection shall prescribe by the
competent authority.
Article 10
Dealers in food shall complete food business registration
with the competent authority before conducting food deals.
The above-mentioned shall not apply to those who engage in the
small-quantity food retail business as a side job with a daily
stock below the prescribed quantity as regulated by the
competent authority.
According to the first paragraph of this Article, the conditions
for and procedures of the application for food dealer
registration, business activities to be allowed and
restrictions, in addition, projects, procedures and deadlines
subject to amendment registration, conditions for revocation of
registration and other rules shall be promulgated by the
competent authority.
Article 11
Details of food dealer's business shall make a record of the
purchase, sale, storage, processing, and brokering.
Imported foods and domestic foods shall be recorded separately.
One who imports or processes foods of relevant quantity that is
regulated by the competent authority, shall record the details
about source of provisions and flow direction.
The records mentioned in the above two paragraph shall be kept
for two years.
The competent authority can dispatch personnel for inspection
and sampling surveys of matters listed in paragraphs 1 and 2.
If needed, it may demand relevant details of source of
provisions and flow direction for food provisions, and the food
dealer may not avoid, obstruct or refuse.
Article 12
The competent authority shall summit the following to the
Executive Yuan for reference and promulgation while occurred
the event of natural disaster or sudden incidents that caused
an unbalanced supply and demand of food:
1. The period, quantity and price of food sales and the price
of food purchasing and selling.
2. Food storage, transportation and milling.
3. Emergency expropriation purchase and sale by ration
distribution of food.
Article 13
The competent authority shall guide the production and
marketing of high quality rice and establish the rice grading
and inspection system.
Article 14
Packaged food sold at markets shall be labeled in Chinese and
common symbols and denote the following subjects clearly and
precisely:
1.The product name.
2.Quality specification.
3.Origin.
4.Weight.
5.Date of milling.
6.The expiration date.
7.Name of the manufacturer and domestic dealer, telephone number
and address.
Unpackaged food sold at markets shall display the product name
and origin.
The contents, methods and other items that shall be complied
with, of the subjects indicated in the two paragraphs above,
shall be regulated by the competent authority.
The labeling of food, except the regulation of the three
paragraphs above, shall comply with the Act Governing Food
Safety and Sanitation.
Article 14-1
Food sold at markets may not :
1.Have projects and contents of labeling on package, which are
different from the actual contents, or contents are falsehoods
and imitations, and the promotion or advertisements marked on
the packages or containers indicate a false situation and that
are exaggerating or misleading.
2.Mix the sale of imported rice and domestic rice.
Article 15
The competent authority may conduct checks on labels and
inspect quality of the food sold in the market. The food
dealers or the small quantity (size ??) food retail business as
a side job regulated in paragraph 2 of Article 10 (the food
retailers) shall not avert, interfere or refuse the inspections
and shall provide relating information on the source of food.
The persons that perform checks and inspections in accordance
with the above-mentioned regulations shall display their
documents for performing the work to the food dealers or food
retailers. The sampled items from markets shall be paid as the
price indicated.
The competent authority shall regulate the rules for sampling
and inspection.
The checking method in the first paragraph shall be performed
according to national standards or in other appropriate methods.
The competent authority may mandate all or part of the
above-mentioned inspections to other inspections institutions,
legal entities, scholars or researching institutions.
Article 16 (Deleted)
Article 17
For violation of the regulations promulgated by the competent
authority according to Article 12 concerning announcement and
management, imprisonment for no longer than three years or
detention, and/or a fine below the total food price, will be
sentenced.
Article 17-1 (Deleted)
Article 18
The violation of paragraph 1 of Article 10 for engaging in food
businesses without finishing food dealer registration, or
violation of paragraph 3 of Article 10 regarding business active
projects to be allowed and restrictions, in addition, projects,
procedures and deadlines subject to amendment registration, or
relevant regulations which have to follow the competent
authority for amendment within the time limit: after the time
limit, a continuing violation of the stated amendment, shall be
punished with a fine of no less than NT$60,000 and no more than
NT$240,000, and such fine may be imposed for each violation.
For any of the following circumstances, the competent authority
shall order the food dealer to rectify its conduct within a
specified time limit. If the food dealer fails to rectify its
conduct before the expiration of the time limit, a fine of no
less than NT$30,000 and no more than NT$150,000 shall be
imposed on such food dealer, and such fine may be imposed for
each violation.
1.The violation of paragraph 1 of Article 11, failing to
record imported foods and domestic foods separately.
2.The violation of paragraph 3 of Article 11, failing to keep
records for 2 years.
3.The violation of paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of Article 14,
failing to label the projects that should be labeled, or the
violation of paragraph 3 of Article 14, the violation of
labeling contents and methods that the relevant projects are
required.
If it's serious for the situation stated above, the cometpent
authority may force them to suspend all or part of busiensses
for relevant period, or revoke food business registration or
part of reisgtered projects on registration.
Article 18-1
The violation of paragraph 2 of Article 14-1 shall be punished
with a fine no less than NT$100,000 and no more than
NT$15,000,000 and such fine may be imposed for each violation.
If in serious violation of the situation stated above, the
competent authority may force them to suspend all or part of
their business for a relevant period, or revoke their food
business registration or part of registered projects on
registration.
If the competent authority has ordered a food dealer who is in
violation of paragraph 1 of Article 14-1to rectify its conduct
within a specified time limit and the food dealer fails to
rectify its conduct before the expiration of the time limit, a
fine of no less than NT$40,000 and no more than NT$4,000,000
shall be imposed on such food dealer, and such fine may be
imposed for each violation. If in serious violation of the
situation stated above, the competent authority may deal with
the situation and shall force them to suspend all or part of
businss for a relevant period, or revoke food business
registration or part of registered projects on registration.
For any of the following circumstances, a fine of no less than
NT$30,000 and no more than NT$3,000,000 shall be imposed on
such food dealer, and such fine may be imposed for each violation:
1.The violation of paragraph 1 of Article 11, the dealer
information fails to record, or one who engages in foods
imported and processing fails to record the details of
source and flow direction according to the regulation of
paragraph 2 of Article 11.
2.The violation of paragraph 4 of Article 11, avoids, obstructs
or refuses inspection or sampling survey of recording details,
or refuses to offer the relevant details of source and flow
direction.
3.The violation of paragraph 1 of Article 15 for a food dealer
or retail dealer, who avoids, obstructs or refuses inspection
or sampling survey of the market products, or refuses to
offer the relevant details of source and flow direction.
Article 18-2
Food business registration or part of registered projects on
registration revoked with the relevant regulation of 2
paragraphs above, the relevant enterprise, farmers association
or cooperative may not apply for food business registration or
part of registered projects on registration with this Act
within 1 year from the date revoked.
According to subparagraph 3 paragraph 2 of Article 18, one who
is ordered to rectify, or is punished with the regulations of
paragraph 3 of Article18, or paragraph 1,2, of preceding Article
, the competent authority may announce the name of the food
business, address, name of responsible person, name of products,
details of violation, and site, date of sampling survey.
The competent authority shall force those products that
seriously harm consumers, to be removed from the shelves within
3 days, and to be withdarawn within 1 month.
If a food dealer fails to guit products off the shelves and
withdraw products within the time limit, it shall be punished
with a fine of no less than NT$100,000 and no more than
NT$3,000,000, If serious cases has been caused, the competent
authority shall force them to suspend all or part of business
for a relevant period, and shall revoke food business
registration or part of regstered projects on registration, and
may not apply for food business registration or part of
registered projects on registration with this Act within 1 year
from the date revoked.
Article 19 (Deleted)
Article 20 (Deleted)
Article 21
The competent authority shall collect license fees and
inspection fees when performing registrations and inspections
according to this Act. The fee standards shall be prescribed by
the competent authority.
Article 22 (Deleted)
Article 23
The implementing regulations of the Act shall prescribe by the
competent authority.
Article 24
This Act shall take effect from the date of its promulgation.
The articles were amended on December 27, 2002 shall take effect
on January 1, 2003. The articles that were amended on May 30,
2014 shall take effect 6 months after the date promulgated.
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