Squid is sold at a night market in Chengdu on February 1, 2022. Photo: VCG

Some food companies from the island of Taiwan failed to provide complete information for registration and reports about the mainland's suspension of seafood imports from Taiwan without early-warning are not true and just political hype, Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, said in a statement on Friday.

Chen Junne-jih, deputy head of the "Council of Agriculture" in Taiwan told reporters in Taipei on Thursday that the General Administration of Customs (GAC) "had barred shipments of squid, Pacific saury, fourfinger threadfin and possibly other species."

However, Zhu said, to implement the Food Security Law and related regulations, China's GAC released new management regulations for imported food in April 2021. Enacted since January 2022, the regulations specify companies' responsibilities and are beneficial for ensuring food security.

This information was provided to Taiwan and companies from the island that have registered in accordance with the regulations have maintained normal exports to the mainland, said Zhu.

The island's "mainland affairs council" said on Friday that the mainland "hasn't made any statements or decisions on the applications" filed by the businesses.

The spokesperson said the Taiwan authorities' remarks about a ban without warning are just hype. Companies that have not offered complete registration information fail to meet the requirements of the mainland, and this is just normal supervision for the sake of food security, Zhu added.

Zhu also warned that this kind of political hype could have damaging consequences for related industries in the island.