Taiwan to Require Certification for Eggs and Egg Products

May 23, 2019

Imported eggs and egg-based products will not be allowed to enter Taiwan without food safety certifications beginning August 1 amid a fipronil scare in Europe and Asia, a food safety official said Monday. The requirement for a permit from the exporting country will cover fresh eggs, whole egg liquid, liquid egg whites, liquid egg yolks, whole egg powder and yolk powder.

The move is in response to the fipronil egg scare that has troubled some European and Asian countries over the past two years. Fipronil is a broad-spectrum insecticide that kills fleas, but it may also contaminate soil and animals when used at a poultry farm. A total of 2,661 metric tons of eggs and derivative products from the United States, Italy, Ukraine, France and India were imported into Taiwan in 2018, according to FDA data.