The ROC Cabinet will propose revisions to the Food Sanitation Act, requiring meat importers, retailers and restaurants to ensure beef products carry labels identifying country of origin, Premier Sean C. Chen said March 8.
Chen made the remarks three days after the Executive Yuan put forward a plan to conditionally allow the import of U.S. beef containing traces of ractopamine, a leanness enhancer permitted in 27 countries including the U.S. but banned in Taiwan.
To ensure information transparency and consumers’ right to choose, all beef providers will have to disclose the provenance of their meat and important related information, the premier said at a news conference.
According to a previous announcement, the beef will be permitted on the condition that its ractopamine residues are within a safe threshold. The Department of Health will determine a maximum residue level within three months, Chen said. The import of pork containing ractopamine or internal organs from cattle will remain off limits, as will all other leanness-enhancing feed additives, he noted.
Following three task force meetings on the health risks of beef containing ractopamine, the Council of Agriculture concluded that so far there is no scientific research confirming adverse effects of the substance on human beings, Chen said.
If any such evidence should come to light, however, the import of all relevant products will immediately be prohibited, he pointed out.
Chen said continuation of the ban could jeopardize Taiwan’s reputation as a trade partner and its competitiveness in global markets. He cited retaliatory measures taken by Canada and the U.S. against the European Union, with the approval of the World Trade Organization, after the EU, without a scientific assessment of risk, banned the import of beef treated with certain growth hormones.
In an interview with local media, William A. Stanton, director of the American Institute in Taiwan, denied that the U.S. is bullying Taiwan on the issue of beef imports.
He said the U.S. considers ractopamine a safe feed additive and urged Taiwanese authorities to review the current ban based on scientific evidence and rational discussion. (THN)
Write to Kwangyin Liu at kwangyin.liu@mail.gio.gov.tw