Print

Mail

wiki links

Retailers refrain from hyping US beef

With US beef expected to be served on dining tables again next week, retailers and restaurants have taken a low-key approach with no large-scale marketing campaigns planned for the moment.

Hypermarket operators yesterday confirmed that the first shipment of US beef will arrive at the CKS International Airport today.

But, in a departure from normal procedure, the government will conduct tighter inspections before allowing the imports to pass through customs.

"We're told the observation period will last for about five days, which means beef imports will not hit market shelves until Wednesday next week," said Daisy Lee (李如秀), corporate affairs manager of Tesco Stores (Taiwan) Co, yesterday.

Taiwan banned US beef imports in December 2003 following reports of the first US bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case, but lifted the ban on April 16 last year. BSE is commonly known as "mad cow disease."

Taiwan banned US beef imports again on June 25 last year after a second case of the disease was confirmed.

Taiwan's decision to reopen its market to US beef within such a short period of time has raised concerns that it might have been made as a result of political pressure, resulting in some beef-lovers adopting a wait-and-see attitude.
This story has been viewed 1753 times.