The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday said it had blocked imports of over 24 metric tons of U.S. pork found to contain a feed additive that is currently banned locally.
Cheng Hui-wen, head of the DOH Bureau of Food Safety, assured that no U.S. pork containing rectopamine had entered Taiwan, dismissing allegations that the health authorities had tried to cover up the results of drug tests on the imports.
Cheng said some countries, such as the United States and Japan, allow the growth-enhancing rectopamine to be used on livestock, although Taiwan bans it.
The two banned pork shipments were detected to contain rectopamine residue of 0.15 mg/kg and 0.32 mg/kg, respectively, on July 11 when they were awaiting customs clearance, Cheng said.
The shipments, weighing 1.3 and 23 metric tons respectively, were imported by K&K Foods Inc., the official said.
The U.S. and Japanese standards for maximum rectopamine residue is 50 mg/kg and 10 mg/kg, respectively, Cheng said.
Cheng stressed that even by the Japanese standard, the residue levels in the two banned shipments were very low.
People might suffer heart palpitations if they consume more than 67 mg of rectopamine per day, the health official said.
Opposition legislators demanded the DOH tighten controls on frozen meat imports from the United States.
People First Party legislators Lin Hui-kuang, Liu Wen-hsiung and Tsai Sheng-chia said the DOH should investigate immediately to see whether any imported pork containing rectopamine had made its way to local restaurants.
They accused the government of failing to protect the health of the citizens for repeatedly "appeasing" the United States by allowing the import of U.S. meat "whose safety is in doubt."
During his upcoming visit to the United States, ruling Democratic Progressive Party presidential candidate Frank Hsieh should request that the United States stop exporting "dubious" meat to Taiwan, Liu said.
Tsai noted that rectopamine can induce weight gain and boost the ratio of muscle to fat in livestock but that residue of the substance can have negative effects, such as causing palpitations, on people.
The drug is illegal in Taiwan, and most legitimate hog farmers in the country do not feed their hogs the drug, Tsai pointed out.
They also alleged that the DOH had tried to withhold the findings of the tests on the two banned pork shipments.
The newly founded Taiwan Farmers' Party also demanded relevant government authorities release their test reports on frozen meat imported from the United States over the past three years within the week.
The authorities, named by the party, include the DOH, the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, the Bureau of Foreign Trade, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine and the Directorate General of Customs.
Hsiao Han-chun, spokesman for the party, said the reports should be publicized to allow for scrutiny by consumers and professional organizations so that they can judge if the government has eased its controls concerning American frozen meat under U.S. pressure.
Hsiao claimed that the problem of rectopamine-contaminated pork and the government's decision to reopen the Taiwan market to U.S. beef despite concerns over mad cow disease have both cast doubt on the safety of imported food.
He said the government should conduct a comprehensive review of its policy on meat imports, noting that U.S. pork has impacted sales of domestic pork because its cheap price has attracted many schools and even the military to procure the product to prepare meals for students and soldiers.
|
| TRANSPORTATION
| CLASSIFIEDS
