Professional smellers test odors to hold businesses accountable

Professional smellers test odors to hold businesses accountable

2026-07-09

Residents frequently complain about the stench of a famous stinky tofu restaurant from Hualien. This is not the only strong odor in the area that people have reported, with other restaurants, manufacturing facilities, and farms also drawing complaints. Taipei’s Department of Environmental Protection has hired professional smell testers to determine whether odor levels exceed standards.

Professionals set up devices to test wind speed and identify odor sources, then use a special vacuum box to extract samples.

These specially made sampling bags cost over NT$1,000 each. After samples are collected, filtered air is injected into them to create control samples before they are analyzed. To address complaints over strong smells including those from a stinky tofu restaurant, the Taipei Department of Environmental Protection brought in six odor evaluators to conduct blind tests.

Odor evaluator
Smells well
It’s very pungent, really very pungent. It doesn’t scare me, but when you squeeze the sample, the smell is truly overwhelming.

Odor evaluator
Smells well
I don’t care for my nose in any special way. As long as I don’t have a cold and haven’t eaten spicy food before the test, it should be fine.

Before starting work, odor evaluators first test their smell sensitivity by identifying the solutions in five test tubes. After passing the test, they need to rest for 30 minutes before they can start working.

The evaluators test the samples through funnels, with the result determined by the average reading from six people. The entire process can take up to three hours.

Wui Hui-chen
Inspector
If the odor levels exceed the standards, we follow the prescribed procedures and issue data showing the odor levels. After we submit the results to the Department of Environmental Protection, it decides whether to impose penalties.

Fearing penalties, many restaurants have installed electric odor removal and carbon filtration systems to eliminate smells. If the odor evaluators determine that odor levels exceed standards, restaurants could be fined up to NT$20 million.

For more Taiwan news, tune in:
Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152
Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53

#stinkytofu #stinky #smell #odor #odorcomplaint #fine #odorpolice #Hualien #Taipei

餐廳油煙味超標恐挨罰! 六位"聞臭師"把關異味判定具法律效力

2026-07-09

花蓮知名"玉里橋頭臭豆腐"，濃烈味道，引發周遭民眾抱怨，不只臭豆腐，餐飲業的油煙味，以及畜牧業、製造業產生的異味，也常遭到眾檢舉，台北市環保局委外就有六位"聞臭師"，一接到任務就會到場採樣檢測，判定異味是否超標。

採樣人員到場架設氣象儀，監測風速，確認異味來源，再用真空採樣箱，抽取樣本。

材質特殊的採樣袋，不會吸附異味，一個就要價上千元。採樣完成後，再注入過濾後的純淨空氣，做成空白樣本對照，接著送回實驗室分析。就怕像玉里橋頭臭豆腐，濃烈惡臭味引發民眾困擾，現在環保局請出六位"聞臭師"來盲測，用鼻子把關空氣品質。

[[聞臭師]]
“很刺鼻啊，真的很刺鼻啊，不會嚇到，但是你在擠壓樣品的時候，其實那個味道真的是，撲鼻而來”

[[聞臭師]]
“沒有特別的保養(鼻子)，只要是當天沒有感冒，聞之前沒有吃辛辣的食物，應該都可以”

聞臭師上工前，還得先測試鼻子靈敏度，五個試管，得聞出裏頭的基準液。通過後，還得休息30分鐘後，才能上工。

聞臭師戴上鼻罩反覆檢測，最終由6位聞臭師平均數值，判定結果，整個流程最久，得花上三小時。

[[檢驗業者吳蕙君]]
“聞臭出來如果有超標，基本上我們就是依我們的方法規定，就是出具超標的數據，那出給那個環保局之後，會有環保局這邊，去決定裁罰”

就怕被罰，不少餐飲業者，也加裝靜電除味和活性碳過濾設備，去除異味，畢竟只要六位聞臭師盲測判定超標，就具有法律效力，最重可罰2千萬元。

更多新聞內容，請鎖定：
民視台灣台（152頻道）週一至週五晚上9:30
民視新聞台（53頻道）週二至週六凌晨1:00

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The captain was taking tourists snorkeling in the waters around Qimei, south of Penghu, when he noticed a fishing net on the water’s surface with something moving inside. He turned around and managed to rescue two baby sea turtles.

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Bang! The starting guns fire simultaneously as a massive pack of runners surges forward like wild horses, filling the air with excitement. The annual Kinmen Marathon is a major event in the sporting world; to welcome next year’s milestone 20th anniversary, the county government has specially produced a promotional video.

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It began when I was a student at National Quemoy University. Seeing all this along the way until today makes me very moved.

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With his fair hair and deep-set features, Sean Dyer speaks flawless, accent-free Mandarin during consultations. He’s a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner who works at a Chinese medicine clinic in Nanzih District in Kaohsiung -- but he’s originally from the UK.

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Sean Dyer
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After I started studying traditional Chinese medicine, I just read books, and the more I read, the more I loved it. After all, both my parents are doctors: my mother is an anesthesiologist, and my father is a nephrologist.

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Sean Dyer
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I gave up my nationality for my family and became Taiwanese. But at the time, they said: You’re not even 36 yet! You still have to serve! So I joined the military and served as an artillery soldier in Chiayi. Most patients are pleasantly surprised but sometimes I’ll run into people asking if I’m really capable. Actually, no matter what the illness is, I feel quite interested in anything that’s challenging.

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Workers are taking advantage of the clear weather to temporarily remove the large signboard.

In another direction, a group of workers are also rushing to remove an ad banner.

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The president invited DPP New Taipei mayoral candidate Su Chiao-hui to the event, while also recognizing the hospital’s origin, which traces back to her father Su Tseng-chang’s term as commissioner for then-Taipei County.

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The stock market has been bustling with activity, and investors have been taking out loans to cash in on the AI surge. But concerns are rising about a bubble.

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The government’s tax revenue is strong, and the stock market has been very active. Though we are keeping an eye on the issue, I think the AI wave is fueled by genuine momentum. We need to watch closely whether excessive leverage is building up through credit expansion. That’s what we should be concerned about.

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