In response to the multiple norovirus outbreaks that occurred recently in Taiwan, the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) invited relevant government agencies, including the Ministry of Education (MOE), the Tourism Bureau and the Food and Drug Administration (TFDA), to convene the “Cross-Ministry Meeting on Viral Gastroenteritis Cluster Response Plan” to prevent further spread of the disease, as well as ensure food safety for the citizens and high-quality travel for both domestic and international visitors on March 17, 2015. The two main topics for discussion in this meeting included sanitation and hygiene management in the tourism industry and the control and prevention of viral gastroenteritis in campus settings. The meeting was presided by the Taiwan CDC Director-General, Dr. Steve Hsu-Sung Kuo. The following three decisions were reached in the meeting:

According to the epidemiological investigation, the recently reported 5 diarrhea clusters in Taiwan have been confirmed to be caused by norovirus, which shows that there is still room for improvement in terms of sanitation and hygiene management in hotels and restaurants. In the near future, Taiwan CDC will continue to work with TFDA and the Tourism Bureau in supervising hotels and restaurants follow the Regulations Governing Sanitation and Hygiene Management in Business Premises through local governments in order to ensure food safety for the citizens and high-quality travel for both domestic and international visitors.

More than 200 diseases are spread through food containing harmful bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances. According to the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, 2 millions of people fall ill every year and many die as a result of eating unsafe food and most of them are children. Therefore, this year, WHO has selected food safety as the priority area of global public health concern and as the theme for World Health Day, which falls on April 7. This year’s campaign will focus on improving food safety from farm to table.