Imported chicken floods the Taiwan, China market, grabbing a 55% share! Loose labeling and repeated thawing, FDA to trial "voluntary slaughter date labeling"

Imports of chicken hit a record high, but unclear product labeling and inconsistent standards for imported and domestic chicken have repeatedly sparked controversy. In response, the Ministry of Health and Welfare will push a draft rule on "voluntary labeling of chicken slaughter dates," under which both domestic and imported chicken should be labeled with the slaughter date (or production date) and the expiry date, with a six-month trial starting in December, encouraging supermarkets, convenience stores and hypermarket operators to take part voluntarily, in the hope of improving the disclosure of meat production information and safeguarding food safety for the people.

It is understood that imported chicken takes more than half a year to be shipped to Taiwan, China, and is repeatedly thawed at least three times along the way, and only the import carton is printed with the slaughter date; after repackaging, the small packs are left with only the expiry date. By contrast, domestic chicken must always be labeled with both the slaughter date and the expiry date, and its shelf life is shorter, so the regulatory standards are "vastly different."

Regarding the FDA's trial of the new rule, the Republic of China Poultry Association expressed approval and called it an important step in driving labeling of imported chicken, but admitted the effect would be limited, because imported chicken mainly flows into snack shops, restaurants and group catering, which are not among the members included in this push, and because the trial is encouraging in nature and has no actual binding force. It called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to extend the rules to all sales channels and make them mandatory, so as to safeguard the sustainable development of the domestic broiler industry.