Early access to quality bananas that are in season and tasty
On today May 5, at MUJI Hsintien Store, the AFA Director-General Dr. Hu Jong-I joins hands with MUJI Taiwan Managing Director Liang Yi-Cha to unveil the media event “Befriend through Bananas at MUJI”. Featuring on-site demonstration and tasting of bananas certified to “Banana TGAP 2020 PLUS”, this event highlights the quality of the fruit as well as the environmental benefits it provides.
With the exerted effort from the TAP (Traceable Agricultural Product) Project Office, AFA and relevant stakeholders, consumers in Taiwan are the first to get their hands on quality TGAP PLUS bananas. Those in-season and tasty bananas are available for purchase at 54 MUJI stores across Taiwan. It is expected to result in 12 metric tons of sales this month.
Bananas certified to the enhanced TGAP PLUS for greater quality and safety attributes
To assist agricultural operators in industrial upgrades and promote production practices that are in sync with international standards, Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan (COA) promulgated the enhanced Banana TGAP 2020 PLUS last March (2020), which incorporates values like “Food Safety”, “Environmental Sustainability”, “Labor Safety”, and “Good Agriculture Practice”. Many producers in Taiwan are moving toward this line of practices to improve the quality of their supplies to the domestic market.
As observed by MUJI, consumers nowadays not only care about food safety but also the source of their food ingredients. Thus aside from providing products that are assured and safe, MUJI also strives to achieve in areas like environmental conservation and farmer support, which provides a perfect complement to the TGAP PLUS system promoted by the government. MUJI also expresses its wish to continue discovering products that meet its “Quality and Value” proposition. Creating a mediating platform between producers and customers, the so-called “Connecting Market” can help uplift farming households and expand the reach of their quality agricultural products.
TGAP PLUS Bananas available at nationwide MUJI stores until May 30 in limited supply
Bananas certified to the enhanced TGAP PLUS are available at 54 nationwide MUJI stores until the end of May, as an initiative to encourage more consumers to try out quality TGAP PLUS bananas. Meanwhile, Director-General Hu Chung-I indicates that as part of AFA’s continued effort to help Taiwan’s agriculture expand abroad, the AFA has completed drafting the plus version of TGAP for bananas, pineapples, mangos, and dragon fruits. To follow up, counseling will be provided to help producers adopt those enhanced TAP systems so that their products can meet the ever more stringent requirements of foreign and domestic markets. With more farmers participating in the enhanced TGAP PLUS system, our food ingredients will be safer, more assuring, and conducive to a sustainable environment. For the latest information, please follow us on the “AFA—Your Source of Agricultural Information” Fanpage (https://zh-tw.facebook.com/afayayaya/).
