Inbound passengers warned about bringing in hairy crabs

The office said in a press release that the crabs, much sought-after by local people, have yet to pass the safety inspection and they could pose a health risk.

If inbound passengers attempt to sneak them into the country, they will invariably be detected by custom officers or X-ray machines, the office said, adding that they detect the hairy crabs every day which end up being destroyed.

Taiwan adopted a stricter inspection criteria to deal with Chinese hairy crabs this year after imported crabs last year were tested and found to contain traces of the banned antibiotic nitrofuran, a cancer-causing substance.

China recently accused Taiwan of adopting too stringent criteria on its hairy crabs, and said that if the two sides of the Taiwan Strait cannot reach an agreement on inspection criteria, Taiwan people this year will not be able to enjoy Chinese crabs. Local crab importers have yet to apply to import the delicacy this year, the Department of Health said.

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