Executive Yuan spokesperson Hu Yu-wei (胡幼偉) last night urged opposition parties to reconsider their stance against easing the ban on imports of US beef containing ractopamine residue after the Codex Alimentarius Commission narrowly voted in favor of maximum residue levels (MRLs) for the livestock leanness-enhancing food additive.
The Democratic Progressive Party, the Taiwan Solidarity Union and the People First Party had suggested that Taiwan hold off on a decision on revising its zero-tolerance policy on ractopamine until after the commission made a decision about the draft MRLs for ractopamine, Hu said.
“Hopefully they can now use the Codex Alimentarius standard as a reference in deciding their position,” Hu said.
Last night, the Executive Yuan learned that the draft MRLs proposed by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA), which serves as a scientific advisory body to the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization, the WHO and the Codex Alimentarius Commission — the international food standards body — were ratified at the 35th Codex Alimentarius Commission meeting in Rome this week.
In 2004, the JECFA recommended MRLs of ractopamine of 10 parts per billion (ppb) in muscle and fatty tissues, 40ppb in livers and 90ppb in kidneys of cattle and pigs.
The government learned that the US called for a vote on the adoption, deviating from normal practice, in which food-safety standards are decided by consensus.
He said the government has learned that the Codex Alimentarius Commission agreed to hold a vote on the draft MRLs by a vote of 68 to 64, and 69 countries then voted in favor of the proposal, while 67 were against it.
Since 2004, it has been proved scientifically that beef containing traces of residue under the MRLs is safe for consumption, Hu said, adding that the Rome vote again demonstrated that the products do not harm human health.
DPP spokesperson Lin Chun-hsien (林俊憲) said the party had learned that the MRLs have been passed and it agrees that Taiwan should adopt the international standards.
The DPP insists that public health and food safety are a priority and that it never opposed imports of US beef, Lin said, adding that it values economic relations and the strategic partnership with the US.
"What we stressed was that the ban on importing beef containing ractopamine should not be lifted before the international community reached a consensus on the issue," Lin said.
Additional reporting by Chris Wang
This story has been updated since it was first published.
GET TO SAFETY: Authorities were scrambling to evacuate nearly 700 people in Hualien County to prepare for overflow from a natural dam formed by a previous typhoon Typhoon Podul yesterday intensified and accelerated as it neared Taiwan, with the impact expected to be felt overnight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, while the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration announced that schools and government offices in most areas of southern and eastern Taiwan would be closed today. The affected regions are Tainan, Kaohsiung and Chiayi City, and Yunlin, Chiayi, Pingtung, Hualien and Taitung counties, as well as the outlying Penghu County. As of 10pm last night, the storm was about 370km east-southeast of Taitung County, moving west-northwest at 27kph, CWA data showed. With a radius of 120km, Podul is carrying maximum sustained
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday criticized the nuclear energy referendum scheduled for Saturday next week, saying that holding the plebiscite before the government can conduct safety evaluations is a denial of the public’s right to make informed decisions. Lai, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), made the comments at the party’s Central Standing Committee meeting at its headquarters in Taipei. ‘NO’ “I will go to the ballot box on Saturday next week to cast a ‘no’ vote, as we all should do,” he said as he called on the public to reject the proposition to reactivate the decommissioned
US President Donald Trump on Friday said that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) told him China would not invade Taiwan while Trump is in office. Trump made the remarks in an interview with Fox News, ahead of talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin over Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. “I will tell you, you know, you have a very similar thing with President Xi of China and Taiwan, but I don’t believe there’s any way it’s going to happen as long as I’m here. We’ll see,” Trump said during an interview on Fox News’ Special Report. “He told me: ‘I will never do
EXCEPTIONS: Some people could be allowed to reclaim citizenship for humanitarian reasons or because of their contributions to the nation, the interior ministry said Taiwan would soon unveil new rules banning Taiwanese residents of China from reclaiming their citizenship if they participated in Beijing’s propaganda activities, the Ministry of the Interior said on Monday. The measures were drafted following President William Lai’s (賴清德) March 13 directive that the government counter China’s espionage and influence campaigns aimed at undermining Taiwan’s sovereignty, the ministry said in a preview of the rules. The changes would affect Taiwanese who lost their citizenship after becoming permanent residents of China or obtaining passports issued by China, it said. Under the measures, former Taiwanese nationals living in China who had made statements denying the
RSS