LY Extraordinary Session, Bill on US Beef Issue Passes 63-46

LY Extraordinary Session, Bill on US Beef Issue Passes 63-46

Source: All Taipei Newspapers
 

Jul. 26, 2012

After a long-drawn-out legislative battle on U.S. beef imports containing traces of ractopamine (Paylean) lasting for months, the Legislative Yuan finally amended Article 11, Article17-1 and Article 31 of the Food Safety Act in the third reading during the extraordinary session, stipulating that unless it was determined to pose no risk to public health by the competent central government authorities according to a public health risk assessment conducted on the basis of national dietary habits, no domestic or foreign meat or meat products would be allowed to contain detectable amounts of ractopamine. Violators would be fined between NT$ 60,000 and NT$6,000,000. In severe circumstances, violators could have their business licenses suspended, be forced to cease business operations for a certain period of time, or have their company registration, business registration or factory registration revoked.

Moreover, the amended articles also stipulate that U.S. beef products in retail markets or eateries must be labeled to show their national origin in Chinese. In addition, unpackaged food vendors could be restricted from selling products at specific sales locations or using specific sales methods, or be asked to label products’ names, origins, production dates and expiration dates in Chinese. If any people were affected by the toxicity of ractopamine residue contained in U.S. beef products, the government would not only immediately reinstate the ban, but also shoulder the responsibility of taking care of the affected consumers and helping them to claim compensation for damages caused.

With regard to the principle of “separation of beef and pork,” a matter of considerable concern to domestic pig farmers, the maximum allowable level of ractopamine residue has been stipulated to apply to only beef products, but not pork or offal, by means of a binding resolution. Nevertheless, this binding resolution has provoked a fierce debate between the Blue and Green camps over “enshrining in law the principle covering the separation of beef and pork” and “explicitly enacting the policy into law.”

Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲), director-general of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) under the Department of Health, stated that an evaluation report on the maximum permissible quantity of ractopamine residue in beef products would be published within two weeks at the earliest. As there were some follow-up tasks, such as issuing a proclamation and holding educational and publicity activities, the ban on U.S. beef imports containing traces of ractopamine residue would probably be officially lifted in the middle of September, said Kang. As to whether the maximum permissible level of ractopamine residue in meat products would be fixed at 10 ppb, modeled on the international standard recently determined by the Codex Alimentarius Commission under the FAO and WHO, Kang stated that an international standard had been set and Taiwan had announced 10ppb as the maximum permissible level of ractopamine residue in 2007. Kang added that Japan and South Korea had also fixed the standard at 10 ppb. Therefore, if we took the beef consumption levels in Taiwan into account, 10 ppb could also be a reference point.

Following the passage of the amendment bill to the Food Safety Act, U.S. beef products, which had disappeared from domestic hypermarkets and supermarkets for more than one year, will soon be available in the markets. However, most market channels stated that there was no timetable for the availability of U.S. beef product on the basis of food safety, adding that they might not put U.S. beef products on the shelves until certain supplemental measures were completed. Some local supermarkets even stated that only when there was a great demand from consumers, would they actively promote U.S. beef products in the markets.

Regarding the “separation of beef and pork,” Wang Cheng-teng (王政騰), deputy chairman of the Council of Agriculture (COA), stated that as people consumed more pork and offal than beef in Taiwan, the COA would definitely uphold the principle of “separation of beef and pork,” improve the quality of local beef and establish an agricultural products tracing system for local beef products in order to optimize the market segmentation strategy.

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