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Ractopamine-fed US pork imports are about to be allowed in, yet the Ministry of Health and Welfare has still not announced supporting measures; civic groups criticize its arrogant attitude as military, police and school meal providers are left at a loss

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Ractopamine-fed US pork imports are about to be allowed in, yet the Ministry of Health and Welfare has still not announced supporting measures; civic groups criticize its arrogant attitude as military, police and school meal providers are left at a loss

In response to the government's plan to allow imports of US pork containing the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine (ractopamine pork), civic groups and New Power Party legislators held a public hearing yesterday (the 3rd) on "certification of origin for imported meat and labeling controls for processed products." The Council of Agriculture, the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice each proposed supporting measures for their own areas of responsibility, but stressed that the Ministry of Health and Welfare must first set out the relevant regulations before anything can be carried out clearly.

By the end of the public hearing, no one from the Ministry of Health and Welfare had shown up, nor was there any written material; the Ministry of Health and Welfare said only that Minister Chen Shih-chung was currently the only one authorized to speak publicly. Civic groups sharply criticized the Ministry of Health and Welfare's arrogant attitude and called on it to propose regulations and supporting measures within seven days, and to extend the notice period for US pork imports.

New Power Party legislators and civic groups jointly held the public hearing on "certification of origin for imported meat and labeling controls for processed products" (photo_Lin Yi-chun)

Council of Agriculture outlines the structure of the NT$10 billion fund, promises to improve the cold chain system

Regarding the Council of Agriculture's promise to set up an NT$10 billion fund to help upgrade Taiwan's pig farming industry, Chiang Wen-chuan, deputy director of the Council of Agriculture's Department of Animal Industry, explained that Taiwanese people consume more pork than any other meat, and that 85% of domestic pigs are slaughtered after live auction while 15% are slaughtered directly. The NT$10 billion fund will be used in four main directions, with most of the budget going to stabilizing hog prices, and the rest to guiding the upgrade of automation equipment and pollution treatment equipment at pig farms, promoting pig insurance, and improving the cold chain.

Chiang Wen-chuan said that improving the cold chain is about modernizing meat products at the back end, including upgrading slaughterhouses, the cold chain for export supply, and the reorganization of carcass refrigeration in the supply system. In recent years, small-scale cooperation with meat vendors has been carried out together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Welfare as a demonstration of "low-temperature refrigeration throughout the whole process from slaughter to distribution," and future cold chain improvements will start with meat markets across Taiwan, with details to be announced soon.

Chu Tseng-hung, chairman of the Animal Society Research Association, said the Council of Agriculture claims that allowing ractopamine pork imports will not hurt the industry and that Taiwanese pork can still be exported, but it ignores the fact that domestically produced warm fresh pork is not kept at low-temperature refrigeration throughout the whole process from slaughter to cutting to distribution. "Domestically produced warm fresh pork contains more bacteria than a toilet seat. If the industry hasn't upgraded at all, how can it compete with imported pork?"

Chiang Wen-chuan, deputy director of the Council of Agriculture's Department of Animal Industry (photo_Lin Yi-chun)

Ministry of Education and Ministry of National Defense: require vendors to provide sources; Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Justice: Ministry of Health and Welfare must set regulations to facilitate enforcement

Fu Wei-wei, a specialist from the Ministry of Education's Department of Comprehensive Planning, and Chiu Chiu-chan, a specialist from the K-12 Education Administration, said they would require schools to log which ingredients they use, and that whether fresh or semi-finished, vendors must provide the place of origin; for fresh meat, they would even link to Council of Agriculture information to trace back to the slaughterhouse, and announce it to parents. However, when asked how meat semi-finished products containing ractopamine would be inspected and verified, both specialists said that at present vendors are only required to provide sources on their own, with no testing and verification mechanism, because the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which governs food, has not yet set out the relevant regulations.

"The health of our fellow service members is the first principle in procurement," the Ministry of National Defense said, adding that fresh ingredients are always procured with domestic products given priority, including pork, and that for semi-finished processed meat, vendors will be required to provide inspection reports before any procurement takes place. In addition to the military, legislators also asked the National Police Agency, which was present, to give priority to domestically produced pork in meals for police and firefighters.

The Customs Administration of the Ministry of Finance, which manages border import and export goods, said that all imported goods, whether chilled, frozen or processed foods, have commodity codes, and follow-up supporting measures can track them by commodity code. And if unscrupulous operators are found to have made false labels, how should they be punished? The Ministry of Justice said the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation already provides complete regulations domestically, but for this incoming ractopamine pork, the relevant labeling regulations have not yet been amended. "As long as the legal amendment, regulations and supporting measures are in place, the Ministry of Justice is willing to cooperate."

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