Irish pork was removed from sale in Europe and Asia yesterday amid fears of a cancer link, as Ireland scrambled to find the source of the scare.
Contaminated pig meat may have been exported to as many as 25 countries, the country's chief veterinary officer Paddy Rogan said on Sunday.
“We believe it's in the order of 20 to 25 countries. It's certainly less than 30,” Rogan said in comments quoted by the Irish media.
Japan, Singapore and South Korea suspended imports from Ireland after Dublin ordered all pig meat products to be withdrawn as cancer-linked chemicals were found in slaughtered pigs thought to have eaten tainted feed.
Taiwan's Department of Health said no Irish pork had been imported into the country.
Irish police joined the investigation into a pig feed company suspected of being behind the contamination, which has caused panic in Ireland at a time when many families would have been buying their traditional Christmas ham.
“We will be assisting as required,” a police spokesman said, declining further comment.
Irish authorities on Saturday ordered a full recall of all pork products made in the country after the discovery of dioxins, which in high doses may cause cancer, in slaughtered pigs.
Ireland is a major exporter of pork with 129,000 tonnes, worth US$466 million, shipped overseas last year. Britain was the biggest customer but exports also went to Germany, France, Denmark, the Netherlands, Russia, Japan, Hong Kong, the US and China.
The pig feedstuff firm at the center of the investigation, Millstream Recycle, vowed to work with authorities “to ensure that any product sold to the pig industry in recent weeks is identified and recalled.”
Rogan said investigators were also checking other facilities but Millstream Recycle “is the one that is most under our microscope at this time.” He said it was believed the contamination was connected with an industrial oil.
Rogan told RTE that laboratory tests had shown that the type of dioxins were “consistent with this type of industrial waste oil type similar to that found in other [EU] member states and in other such incidents.”
In a brief statement Millstream said it had “always prided itself on exceeding the strict standards of quality and safety.”
Company spokesman David Curtin denied that any oil or other substance had been added to the feedstuff during the processing. He said what was under investigation was oil used to power machinery to dry the recycled bread products and dough used to make the pig feed.
Rogan said nine pig producer operations in the country had been sealed off, as well as 38 beef farms that also received the contaminated feed.
The government is aiming to recruit 1,096 foreign English teachers and teaching assistants this year, the Ministry of Education said yesterday. The foreign teachers would work closely with elementary and junior-high instructors to create and teach courses, ministry official Tsai Yi-ching (蔡宜靜) said. Together, they would create an immersive language environment, helping to motivate students while enhancing the skills of local teachers, she said. The ministry has since 2021 been recruiting foreign teachers through the Taiwan Foreign English Teacher Program, which offers placement, salary, housing and other benefits to eligible foreign teachers. Two centers serving northern and southern Taiwan assist in recruiting and training
WIDE NET: Health officials said they are considering all possibilities, such as bongkrekic acid, while the city mayor said they have not ruled out the possibility of a malicious act of poisoning Two people who dined at a restaurant in Taipei’s Far Eastern Department Store Xinyi A13 last week have died, while four are in intensive care, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday. All of the outlets of Malaysian vegetarian restaurant franchise Polam Kopitiam have been ordered to close pending an investigation after 11 people became ill due to suspected food poisoning, city officials told a news conference in Taipei. The first fatality, a 39-year-old man who ate at the restaurant on Friday last week, died of kidney failure two days later at the city’s Mackay Memorial Hospital. A 66-year-old man who dined
‘CARRIER KILLERS’: The Tuo Chiang-class corvettes’ stealth capability means they have a radar cross-section as small as the size of a fishing boat, an analyst said President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday presided over a ceremony at Yilan County’s Suao Harbor (蘇澳港), where the navy took delivery of two indigenous Tuo Chiang-class corvettes. The corvettes, An Chiang (安江) and Wan Chiang (萬江), along with the introduction of the coast guard’s third and fourth 4,000-tonne cutters earlier this month, are a testament to Taiwan’s shipbuilding capability and signify the nation’s resolve to defend democracy and freedom, Tsai said. The vessels are also the last two of six Tuo Chiang-class corvettes ordered from Lungteh Shipbuilding Co (龍德造船) by the navy, Tsai said. The first Tuo Chiang-class vessel delivered was Ta Chiang (塔江)
EYE ON STRAIT: The US spending bill ‘doubles security cooperation funding for Taiwan,’ while also seeking to counter the influence of China US President Joe Biden on Saturday signed into law a US$1.2 trillion spending package that includes US$300 million in foreign military financing to Taiwan, as well as funding for Taipei-Washington cooperative projects. The US Congress early on Saturday overwhelmingly passed the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act 2024 to avoid a partial shutdown and fund the government through September for a fiscal year that began six months ago. Under the package, the Defense Appropriations Act would provide a US$27 billion increase from the previous fiscal year to fund “critical national defense efforts, including countering the PRC [People’s Republic of China],” according to a summary