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Legislators promise beef amendment

A cook wears a badge calling for a boycott of US ground beef and other controversial beef products at the launch of the 2009 Taipei International Beef Noodle Festival yesterday. Australian beef was chosen for the festival, which runs until the end of the month. PHOTO: CNA

Legislators across party lines yesterday agreed to amend the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) by Nov. 17 to prohibit imports of “risky” beef products.

Although two versions of the amendment will not be reviewed until Friday, legislators agreed that the amendment should ban the import of bovine organs, spinal cords, brains, skulls and eyes as well as ground beef. They also strongly felt these products should not be imported before the ban takes effect, Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平) said.

The Procedure Committee included two draft amendments on the plenary agenda for Friday: one from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) banning risky products from regions where cases of mad cow disease have been recorded, and a similar proposal by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Daniel Hwang (黃義交).

Lawmakers reached the agreement after the DPP stalled yesterday morning’s plenary session at the request of DPP Chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and threatened to paralyze the entire session unless the legislature immediately passed the party’s proposal. DPP legislators occupied the speaker’s podium, making it impossible for the legislature to proceed with yesterday’s agenda, which included 40 bills.

The boycott also stalled a scheduled vote on Premier Wu Den-yih’s (吳敦義) Central Election Commission (CEC) nominees, which took place later in the day.

The Department of Health on Monday officially announced the relaxation of regulations on US beef imports, despite protests from legislators and a number of civic groups.

Under the terms of the protocol signed by the US and Taiwan, US bone-in beef, ground beef, bovine intestines, brains, spinal cords and processed beef from cattle younger than 30 months that have not been contaminated with “specific risk materials” (SRMs) will be allowed into Taiwan beginning next Tuesday.

SRMs are defined in the protocol as the brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column and dorsal root ganglia of cattle 30 months of age and older, as well as the tonsils and the distal ileum of the small intestine from all cattle.

But in response to criticism, the government on Monday said it would use administrative means to block the import of ground beef and bovine intestines.

The Executive Yuan accepted demands by the KMT caucus that all ground beef and intestine imports be thawed for examination (blocking the products by ruining them) and that any shipments mixed with bone-in beef be destroyed.

After legislators agreed to amend the food sanitation law, the 67 legislators present at yesterday’s afternoon session voted on the CEC appointments. Lai Hau-min (賴浩敏) was approved as the next CEC chairman by a vote of 65 to 2, while 66 lawmakers approved Liu Yi-chou (劉義周) as vice chairman.

The legislators also approved nine CEC members nominated by the premier.

Meanwhile, Assistant US Trade Representative for Public Affairs Carol Guthrie and US Department of Agricultural Director of Communications Chris Mather welcomed Taiwan’s relaxed beef policy but said the US was examining the other measures introduced on Monday.

“After over two years of extensive negotiations and scientific and technical exchanges, the US has been looking forward to an announcement from Taiwan authorities that Taiwan would fully open its market to American beef and beef products on the basis of the bilateral protocol we have negotiated,” they said in a statement late on Monday.

“We understand today that Taiwan also announced a number of other additional domestic measures regarding beef and beef products. We are currently reviewing these measures to ensure they allow Taiwan consumers the opportunity to enjoy the same safe American beef and beef products that American families eat,” they said.

Also See: Major importers sign agreement against US beef
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