FOOD SAFETY

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2011/06/03/2003504838

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSx_fqtdjL0

The latest outbreak of food tainted by plasticizer focused our attention on food safety concerns again. Ironically, at this time, these contaminated ingredients were made in our hometown, Taiwan, famous for its good manufacture qualities, rather than infamous China. The most horrible part for me was that health authorities claimed that they had discovered this scandal by accident. It meant there were huge holes in Taiwan’s food safety examination, and this event could be just a tip of the iceberg. Who knows how long we have been eating these plastic things without any awareness and how these accumulated toxins in our body will impact our health?

Discussions

1. The Taiwanese are crazy about daily supplements (including my parents). Many famous daily supplements are involved in the scandal. Do you eat any daily supplements? Have you, your family or friends eaten any listed products? Will you keep eating daily supplements after this event?

2. Have you changed or considered changing your diet habits after this news has come out? How? Please share your experiences. Did this event defeat your trust in the food industry in Taiwan?

3. Since many tainted products were exported to other countries, it has become international news and has seriously damaged Taiwan’s image. What do you think we should do to reverse the bad image?

4. TV talk shows that discuss the current events are very popular in Taiwan. These shows create a whole new occupation, TV pundits (名嘴). However, those TV pundits often give alarmist or unproven opinions to boost broadcast popularity. In this event, all media and TV pundits emphasized that the plasticizer may damage our reproductive organ. It apparently resulted in public panic; thus, many clinics have been full of worried parents and their kids since the news broke out.

Do you love watching TV talk show? Do you tend to buy or not buy what the TV pundits told? Why? What impact does “TV pundits phenomenon” bring for the society? Do you think the government should regular the speaking of those TV pundits?