African swine fever: 8 more meat products caught at the border; BAPHIQ urges travelers not to bring meat from any country and avoid penalties
Today (the 15th), the second day after the penalties for carrying animal products were raised, several meat product violations occurred at the border. According to statistics from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine (BAPHIQ) of the Council of Agriculture, today (as of 16:00), a total of 8 cases of travelers illegally carrying animal products were seized at border airports and ports nationwide, with Chinese sausage, pork jerky, duck jerky, Vietnamese pork, Malaysian poultry meat, and Thai pork brought in from Taoyuan Airport, Matsu, and Kaohsiung Siaogang Airport respectively. Among them, one case of sausage brought in from Hangzhou reached as much as 3.6 kg.
Peng Ming-hsing, head of the Animal Quarantine Division of BAPHIQ, urged that it is not just China or Southeast Asia - "meat from any country" should not be brought into Taiwan, because regardless of whether it is an African swine fever-affected country, imported meat requires a quarantine certificate from the exporting country. Ordinary travelers bringing back meat from local areas cannot possibly have a quarantine certificate, so bringing it in is a violation.
Eight new violations on the 15th; 3.6 kg of sausage brought back from Hangzhou
Eight new violation cases were added today, including 3 seized at Taoyuan International Airport: 2 fined NT$50,000 (Chinese mainland sausage, pork jerky), 1 fined NT$30,000 (duck jerky); 1 fined NT$50,000 at the Matsu Quarantine Station of the Keelung Branch (pork jerky); 4 fined NT$30,000 at Kaohsiung Siaogang International Airport (1 each of Vietnamese pork and poultry meat, 1 each of Malaysian poultry meat and Thai pork).
In terms of nationality, there were 2 Chinese mainland travelers, 3 Taiwan nationals, 2 Vietnamese, and 1 Malaysian.
BAPHIQ: Bringing meat from any country is a violation; penalties are heavier for African swine fever-affected countries
Today's violating meat products came from China as well as Southeast Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, with a wide variety of violating items. Many people do not know that, aside from Chinese mainland pork products, bringing any meat from overseas is a violation.
Peng Ming-hsing explained that regardless of whether it is an African swine fever epidemic area or a country where outbreaks have occurred in the past three years, bringing meat back from overseas is basically a violation unless a quarantine certificate issued by the exporting country's quarantine authority can be provided. But ordinary travelers bringing back local meat cannot obtain such documents, so bringing it in is illegal.
Peng Ming-hsing explained that if meat is brought back by mistake, as long as it is declared at the counter upon entry and confiscated and destroyed by staff, there will be no penalty. If it is seized without declaration, fines will be imposed according to the circumstances of the violation. For undeclared meat, the basic fine starts at NT$10,000. If it is from a country where African swine fever has occurred in the past three years, such as China, bringing back pork products carries a NT$50,000 fine, and other meat products carry a NT$30,000 fine. If it is not an African swine fever-affected country but is an area affected by foot-and-mouth disease or avian influenza (such as Southeast Asia and South Korea), the fine is NT$30,000.
Peng Ming-hsing stressed that in order to ensure food safety in Taiwan and protect one's own rights, the fundamental way is for people not to bring meat in from any country.