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Professional Farmer Shop: Providing a Variety of Safe Taiwan – produced Foods

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Post date:2016-06-16

Updates:2016-08-23

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Article _ Ku Chia Hsin
Photos _ Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp.

1_台北農產運銷公司每日經手1,600公噸的蔬菜與700公噸的水果,服務消費人口達500萬人次。.jpg
Every day, the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. handles 1,600 metric tons of vegetables and 700 metric tons of fruit for five million consumers.
 
Black tea is a specialty in Sun Moon Lake’s Yuchi Township (日月潭魚池鄉), Nantou County (南投縣). Majia noodles and XO sauce are specialties of Kinmen (金門) and fragrant lotus flowers are a specialty of Baihe District (白河區), Tainan City (台南市). However, it is not necessary for Taipei residents to travel around to buy agricultural specialty products from various regions of Taiwan. All they have to do is visit the Professional Farmer (農的傳人) shop of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. (台北農產運銷股份有限公司), where they can purchase agricultural specialty products from all over Taiwan that meet national standards. Thus, this is not only a place to purchase foods that are certified safe, but also to experience an overview of Taiwan’s agricultural products and culinary culture.
 
The Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. is jointly owned by the Taipei City Government, the Executive Yuan (行政院) and various farmers associations and transport companies. It operates and manages Taipei’s first and second fruit and vegetable wholesale markets. Currently, it is Taiwan’s largest wholesale produce platform, and it handles 1,600 metric tons of vegetables and 700 metric tons of fruit daily. It opens before dawn each day, and via auction, within two or three hours all of the produce is distributed to retailers throughout Greater Taipei who provide it to consumers. The scope of distribution has also been expanded to include satellite cities and towns in Taoyuan and Yilan, and
a total of approximately five million consumers are served.
 
Promoting Taiwan’s Agricultural Specialty Products and Ensuring Food Safety Checks
In recent years, there seems to have been an endless stream of food safety scandals; therefore, providing Taipei residents with healthy and safe foods has become a pressing issue. Lu Quanli (路全利), chief secretary of the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. , says that the Second Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market has a modern laboratory for testing pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables. Every day, 250 random samples are tested. Those that do not meet the standards are confiscated and destroyed to ensure that they do not enter the market.
 
The Professional Farmer is located next to the Second Fruit and Vegetable Wholesale Market. In terms of food safety, it emphasizes stocking agricultural specialty products from various farmers’ associations of each county, city, township and town. The local farmers’ associations carry out the first level of checks. In addition to basic registration documents, product manufacturers must present certification from all of the relevant testing agencies before their products can be sold in the shop. Every weekend, various farmers’ associations are invited to design different themes to help consumers to better understand Taiwan’s agricultural specialty product culture and safety inspection system.

2_台北市第一及第二果菜批發市場每日凌晨時分,在2、3小時內就能把所有蔬果透過拍賣分散至大台北地區。.jpg
Taipei’s first and second fruit and vegetable wholesale markets open before dawn every morning. Within two or three hours, all of the fruits and vegetables are auctioned off for distribution to various parts of Greater Taipei.
 
Organic Certification: Convenient Online Shopping and Delivery Service
To strengthen promotion of fresh and safe products, in September of last year (2015), the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. established its own organic fruit and vegetable brand, Fragrant Fruits and Vegetables (蔬果飄香). Lu emphasizes that as the leader in Taiwan’s wholesale markets, the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. should take the first step in the comprehensive promotion of organic fruits and vegetables. Certified organic fruits and vegetables should be brought together and in this way an adequate supply can be ensured for all of Taiwan. In the future, supplies for school lunches in Taipei City elementary and junior high schools will also be sustainable.
 
The Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. also promotes monthly and yearly organic fruit and vegetable home delivery services to the general public. Lu says that home delivery service is a rising trend. The public can choose from more than 80 types of organic fruits and vegetables. A purchase of NT$800 includes six types of leafy vegetables and six types of rootstalks, which can be used to make three to four meals for a family of four. In terms of agricultural specialty products, with the availability of online marketing, consumers can make purchases through PostMall (郵政商城) or other platforms and have their orders delivered to their door. In this time of intense market competition, the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. is providing Taipei City residents with agricultural specialty products from all over Taiwan and serving as a guardian of the public’s health.

3_台北農產運銷公司去年9月成立自有有機蔬果品牌「蔬果飄香」,主打新鮮、安心的健康食材。(顧家麥攝).jpg
In September of last year (2015), the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corp. established its own organic brand, Fragrant Fruits and Vegetables, fresh, safe and healthy foods are its flagship products. (Photo: Ku Chia Hsin)
 

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