Seven caterers working with delivery platforms fail inspections

Taipei, Jan. 15 (CNA) Seven of 453 food and beverage operators working with food delivery platforms failed food safety and sanitation inspections carried out between Aug. 1 and Oct. 31 last year, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Monday.

The seven catering operators that failed the "2023 delivery platform project" inspections carried out by the TFDA and local health authorities include a Pizza Hut store in Hsinchu and an eatery in Hualien after their ketchup and peanut powder were found to have expired.

Each was hit with a fine of NT$60,000 (US$1,961) for violating the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said at a press briefing.

A supplier to the Hualien eatery has also been fined NT$30,000 for providing dessert ingredients without an expiry date.

Two beverage shops in Tainan were each slapped with NT$30,000 fines after their tea drinks were found to contain excessive levels of Enterobacteriaceae, according to Lin.

A hamburger store in Keelung was fined NT$15,000 for failing to meet food liability insurance requirements, while a supplier of meat glue for a Kaohsiung meal box supplier was also hit with an NT$30,000 fine for not meeting labeling requirements, Lin added.

Meanwhile, all eight delivery platform operators -- UberEats, Foodpanda, Foodomo, Lalamove, aopaotui, Inline, CutAway, and By The Way, as well as all 236 delivery workers, passed inspections after being found to be in compliance with hygiene regulations, according to the TFDA.