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Updated Thursday, July 14, 2011 0:02 am TWN, By Joseph Yeh,The China Post

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AIT urges scientific fix to beef drug issue

The China Post--The American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) yesterday urged the government to use scientific data to make its decision regarding whether to implement a maximum residue limit, or MRL, for ractopamine, the growth-enhancing agent found in meat, and to not allow political considerations to influence its decision-making process.

“We hope the decision is made based on scientific evidence, not political concerns,” AIT spokesperson Sheila Paskman told reporters yesterday.

Paskman's remarks came as a response to the government's recent announcement that it will not lift its current zero-tolerance policy against ractopamine use in meat products, after an international food standards body again failed to set an MRL for the additive.

For the fourth consecutive year, the 34th session of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, under the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization and the WHO, delayed a decision on MRLs for ractopamine, after participants were unable to reach a consensus during a meeting held last week in Geneva, Switzerland.

In a statement released last week following the Codex's decision, the United States Trade Representative (USTR) expressed concerns that political considerations clouded the decision-making process of the internationally recognized food safety authority, stating that the Codex' inaction is a setback for the international body, science and fair trade.

Timetable to Resume TIFA Talks Unknown

The ractopamine issue is also reportedly the cause of a major trade dispute between Taiwan and the U.S.

　　Washington reportedly suspended the scheduled Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks with Taiwan, originally set for January this year, after the latter decided to remove some American beef products that were found to contain the locally banned animal feed additive from shelves.

The Chinese-language United Evening News yesterday quoted an unidentified USTR official as saying that they have nothing to announce at this time with regard to the scheduling of future TIFA meetings.

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