Taiwan’s ‘jail food’ is its new national delicacy
The country has developed a Tw$500m appetite for high-quality, sweets and treats handmade in its more than 50 jails
TAOYUAN, TAIWAN // If it were not for the knives chained to the table and the uniformed staff, the food factory at Taoyuan women’s prison would look like any commercial kitchen. Inmates wearing masks and hair nets mix cocoa powder to make chocolate, or chop cabbage to marinate for kimchi.
They are part of a burgeoning food industry in Taiwan – artisan snacks, made behind bars.
After a series of food safety scandals, Taiwan consumers are now extra- vigilant about what they eat, and the high-quality, affordable, additive-free delicacies produced in a prison are among those the public now trusts the most.
Prison food sales also generate hundreds of millions of dollars each year. Last year, receipts reached more than NT$500 million (Dh57m), with money going toward victim compensation, improvement of facilities and a wage for inmates. Some prisoners, such as 39-year-old Chen, had little culinary experience before joining the production line in Taoyuan, in the north of the island. The prison produces a wide range of snacks, from sweets to fermented tofu.
“I’m happy to learn some useful skills,” said Chen. “I didn’t know how to use a kitchen knife properly before as my mother always cooked for me. I’ve learnt that it looks simple to make food, but it’s actually quite complicated.”
Inmates who are close to their release date or parole can apply for the scheme and are given priority. Long-term prisoners who are judged to have behaved well or have relevant experience can also apply.
The range of jail- made food bought from prisons across Taiwan includes local favourites such as pineapple cake and peanut brittle, soy sauce and freerange chicken meals.
What started in 2006 as a small programme designed to teach inmates practical skills and raise funds for prison facilities has been expanded to all of Taiwan’s adult jails. More than 50 prisons make about 300 products that can be ordered by the public by phone, online or by fax, or bought direct from prison offices. “We use good ingredients and we do not use additives or over-process food to make profits,” said Chiu Hung-chi, deputy chief of the agency of corrections. “Our foods are natural, high quality and inexpensive.”
It is a winning sales pitch to a public made wary after bigname companies were found to have adulterated their products with banned chemicals or recycled “gutter oil” to lower costs, which led to mass recalls of food items in recent years.
Shoppers at a food fair in central Taichung city organised by the corrections agency were quick to vouch for made-in-prison food.
“I’ve been buying food made by inmates regularly for more than a year. They are organic, good quality and relatively cheap. I also rally my friends to place orders together,” said businesswoman Wang Lungfeng, who drove nearly two hours from the southern Tainan city to the fair, which lasted four days and attracted thousands of visitors. Ms Wang spent more than NT$10,000 on noodles, chicken, soy sauce and snacks.
“I think the programme is very meaningful. The inmates are learning some skills that can help them find work and readjust to society,” she said. Inmates earn an average monthly “labour allowance” of about NT$2,000 to 3,000. Those involved in making top-selling items, such as soy sauce made in a prison in southern Pingtung county, can make 10 times the average pay during peak holiday seasons, according to Mr Chiu.
Besides producing their own brand of food, some prisons make soaps and handicraft, or take orders from local factories to manufacture garments, paper bags and accessories.
Inmate Chen said she hopes to launch her own small food business after her release.
“My mother loves to cook and she cooks well. She said as long as I am not afraid of hard work she will work with me to start our small food business. I hope to combine my mother’s cooking with what I’ve learnt to create better food.”
‘ Our foods are natural, high quality and inexpensive Chiu Hung-chi deputy chief of the agency of corrections