The Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) yesterday said that it was considering lifting a ban on imports of certain cattle parts from the US after The Food and Drug Administration said the parts passed a health risk assessment.
The ministry denied accusations that the idea has been raised as a bargaining chip during talks with the US over the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The ministry’s remarks came after Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) said during his week-long US visit that the ministry would make an announcement clarifying import regulations regarding bovine internal organs from the US, allowing six selected cattle parts to enter the nation.
Given that Deng’s visit to the US was in a bid to express Taiwan’s desire to join the TPP and take part in the second round of TPP negotiations, his remarks sparked media speculation that he was using the cattle parts imports in an attempt to gain the US’ support for the TPP bid.
MOEA official Tseng Yung-kuang (曾永光) said the Ministry of Health and Welfare in August last year deemed that cattle bone marrow, blood, meat attached to the skull, gullet muscles and fat are not internal organs.
“The aforementioned six items have passed a series of health risk evaluations recently, and we are currently informing lawmakers and the public that the six selected cattle parts are safe to eat,” Tseng said by telephone.
Tseng said Deng’s remarks have nothing to do with expressing Taiwan’s interest in joining the TPP, adding that the health risk evaluations took months and it “happened” to be passed recently.
“It is normal to talk about Taiwan’s latest measures for US cattle imports while visiting the country,” Tseng said.
The government would make an official announcement regarding the imports of the items once serial numbers and relevant regulations are set, Tseng said.
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