The Council of Agriculture (COA) issued a statement yesterday announcing that the ban on the use of the pig feed additive
ractopamine would soon be lifted. However, no firm dates have been set for the lifting of the ban. Department of Health (DOH) officials said the department is ready to put in place maximum allowable residue levels for ractopamine as soon as the COA unbans the
substance."
The move represents a dramatic turnaround as officials said earlier this month they would crack down on the use of the additive.
DOH officials said a consensus was reached after a panel of 19 experts were consulted on the safety of ractopamine use.
"In the end, we have to respect the opinion of experts on food safety," said Huang Kuo-ching (
The DOH said the proposed maximum allowable residue levels in pork and beef were 10 parts per billion (ppb) for muscle and fatty tissue, 40ppb in liver and 90ppb in kidney.
However, Huang said the COA had not set a firm date for the lifting of the ban. The DOH, in turn, said it could not finalize the allowable residue limit for ractopamine while the ban is still in place.
Ractopamine, an additive used to promote the growth of lean meat, became an issue last month when two shipments of US pork were found to contain residues of less than 1ppb of the banned substance. Marketed under the trade name "Paylean" by pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly, the additive is approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Subsequent testing of domestic pork revealed the presence of ractopamine in three out of 43 samples, the Bureau of Food Sanitation (BFS) said.
On Aug. 4, Yeh Ying (
BFS Director Cheng Huei-wen (鄭慧文) denied charges that pressure had been brought to bear by US interests to lift the ban on ractopamine in order to smooth the way for continued US pork imports.
Cheng also denied that footage broadcast by CTI-TV showed American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) personnel visiting the BFS office yesterday.
"Those were not AIT personnel at all, but representatives of an American rice grower's association," he said, adding that AIT personnel last visited the BFS office on Aug. 2.
Objecting to the decision to lift the ban, the Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) caucus yesterday urged Cheng to step down and threatened to freeze the BFS' budget.
"Ractopamine is banned in about 160 countries. Only 24 countries permit its use," TSU Legislator Yin Ling-ying (尹伶瑛) said.
"Some people claim the nation should lift restrictions on ractopamine in order to be `connected to the world,' but the TSU caucus believes the regulation should not be relaxed because we have to safeguard the rights of consumers," Yin said.
Yang Her-pei (楊河北), a representative of a local pig farmers' association, said he could not understand why the DOH planned to lift the ban when there was evidence that ractopamine posed a health threat.
"China and the European Union also forbid the use of ractopamine ... It is very hard not to speculate that the DOH wants to lift the ban to benefit US pork exporters," he said.
Representatives of the associations threatened to stage demonstrations in front of the DOH and the council next Tuesday if health officials fail to offer a "reasonable" explanation for their lifting of the ban.
Additional reporting by Flora Wang
Taiwan is projected to lose a working-age population of about 6.67 million people in two waves of retirement in the coming years, as the nation confronts accelerating demographic decline and a shortage of younger workers to take their place, the Ministry of the Interior said. Taiwan experienced its largest baby boom between 1958 and 1966, when the population grew by 3.78 million, followed by a second surge of 2.89 million between 1976 and 1982, ministry data showed. In 2023, the first of those baby boom generations — those born in the late 1950s and early 1960s — began to enter retirement, triggering
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
NO CHANGE: The TRA makes clear that the US does not consider the status of Taiwan to have been determined by WWII-era documents, a former AIT deputy director said The American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) comments that World War-II era documents do not determine Taiwan’s political status accurately conveyed the US’ stance, the US Department of State said. An AIT spokesperson on Saturday said that a Chinese official mischaracterized World War II-era documents as stating that Taiwan was ceded to the China. The remarks from the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan drew criticism from the Ma Ying-jeou Foundation, whose director said the comments put Taiwan in danger. The Chinese-language United Daily News yesterday reported that a US State Department spokesperson confirmed the AIT’s position. They added that the US would continue to
IMPORTANT BACKER: China seeks to expel US influence from the Indo-Pacific region and supplant Washington as the global leader, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said China is preparing for war to seize Taiwan, Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said in Washington on Friday, warning that Taiwan’s fall would trigger a regional “domino effect” endangering US security. In a speech titled “Maintaining the Peaceful and Stable Status Quo Across the Taiwan Strait is in Line with the Shared Interests of Taiwan and the United States,” Chiu said Taiwan’s strategic importance is “closely tied” to US interests. Geopolitically, Taiwan sits in a “core position” in the first island chain — an arc stretching from Japan, through Taiwan and the Philippines, to Borneo, which is shared by
RSS