Page 91 - 2018 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Annual Report 2018 Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan get information about the product and the producer. Through 2018 we had guided 782 producers to get QR Codes, covering 63 different products, with production volume of about 23,460 metric tons. As of the end of 2018, the coverage rate for the label for the “Domestic Fresh Pork Traceability System” reached 70%. Consumers can use the eight-digit traceability code on the label to search for the date on which the hog was sold wholesale, the market where it was sold wholesale, and the farm of origin. The COA also continued to promote the “Taiwan Beef Traceability System,” providing consumers with the ability to search for information about the farm where the animal was raised, the slaughterhouse, and the butchering factory, and making it easier to differentiate domestic from imported beef. Also, as of September 1, 2015, there must be an egg traceability label attached to the outside of the containers used for non-packed eggs. Finally, on August 1, 2017, the COA launched the “Domestic Fresh Poultry Meat Tracing Platform,” and on the 30th of the same month completed the “Domestic Washed-and-Graded Egg Tracing System.” Consumers can use the QR Code to inquire about poultry slaughterhouses, access livestock farm information, and trace the washing-and-grading site for eggs. (7) Building dependable certification systems In Taiwan there are four agricultural product certification systems, including (i) Organic, (ii) Traceable Agricultural Products (TAP), (iii) Certified Agricultural Standards (CAS), and (iv) Good Agricultural Practice (GAP). However, the legal basis, marks, systems, and certication mechanisms are all different, making it difcult for consumers to understand the meaning and value of each certication system. In order to bring into play the full value of agricultural product marking systems, the COA has planned to reorganize the existing certification systems into “Organic” and “Taiwan Good Agricultural Practice” (TGAP), to facilitate understanding, recognition, trust, and use of labels in the consumer market and to align with international practices. For the “Organic” system, because the “Organic” mark was too similar with the CAS mark, causing confusion among consumers, on August 24 of 2018, the COA announced new graphics for the Organic mark. The new graphics, selected from among new designs by an Internet vote, facilitate differentiation by consumers. Also, in coordination with the promulgation of the “Organic Agriculture Promotion Act” on May 30, 2018, the COA blended third-party certication management with the spirit of industrial guidance, and clearly stipulated the guidance measures that the competent authority shall adopt with respect to organic agriculture. 89