FINAL VERDICT: Judges sided with prosecutors, ruling that a Kaohsiung couple had knowingly used chemicals ‘not suitable for human consumption’ in their kelp products

Taipei Times
Date:  Aug 06, 2020
By: Chang Wen-chuan and Jason Pan / Staff reporters\

The Supreme Court yesterday affirmed the guilty ruling for a Kaohsiung couple for using unapproved chemical additives in kelp products, upholding one-year prison sentences for both.

The court also confiscated NT$7.61 million (US$257,914) to compensate for illicit profits from their business, and imposed fines of NT$1.8 million for the couple, surnamed Pan (潘) and Chen (陳), for breaches of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).

Health authorities had in March 2015 received reports that the kelp products sold by the couple contained industrial-grade additives, which are only approved for use in food in small amounts, including ammonium bicarbonate, ammonium aluminium sulfate, sodium dithionite and acetic acid.    [FULL  STORY]