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Misleading goat products recalled

Tuesday, October 27, 2009
The China Post news staff


TAIPEI, Taiwan -- In a spot check, Taipei health authorities yesterday discovered five out of 14 goat dairy products containing over 50 percent cow milk, local media reported.

Taipei City Department of Health (DOH) asked manufacturers to recall unsatisfactory products amid allegations of intentionally misleading consumers, said a United Evening News report.

Of the five offenders that supplied goat milk tablets and failed to indicate cow milk content, one was fined NT$40,000 for false labeling of products in violation of paragraph 1 of Article 19 of the Food Sanitation Act, wrote the paper.

Paragraph 1 of Article 19 states that the labeling, promotion or advertisement of foods, food additives or food cleansers shall not be false, exaggerated or misleading.

Violators are subject to fines between NT$40,000 and NT$200,000.

Vendors of the remaining four recalled products were asked to improve processes for failure of product labeling to abide by Article 17, which stipulates that food ingredients be listed in the order of descending order of content by weight, said the report.

Goat diary products or goat milk tablets oftentimes have cow milk added to boost nutritional value or to soften the sharp, distinctive goat milk flavor, said Chiang Yu-mei, director of the DOH Food and Drug Division.

Many parents believe goat milk to be more beneficial to health than cows' milk, and include goat milk in their children's diets, noted Chiang.

It is a common misconception that goat milk is milder than cow milk and does not exacerbate respiratory problems such as asthma, said Huang Jing-lung, an internist at the Chang Gung Medical Foundation.

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