As African swine fever (ASF) rages in China, neighboring countries such as Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, which have not yet been affected by the disease, are on high alert and doing everything in their power to prevent its spread. However, from time to time passengers have been caught attempting to bring meat products into the country, often claiming that they were not aware of the new regulations or that they thought vacuum-packed meat products were allowed, since they are not raw meat nor perishable. In an interview last Monday, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine attempted to explode such myths and the bureau hopes that by doing so people will more clearly understand the situation and not try to push their luck.
Statistics show that the passengers who have been fined are nationals from Taiwan, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand, as well as Vietnamese and Chinese spouses traveling on Republic of China (Taiwan) passports. They have been caught bringing in poultry and meat products from areas affected by animal epidemics such as ASF, foot-and-month disease and bird flu.
Despite the bureau’s efforts to actively promote and raise awareness of ASF at the airports’ departure and arrival areas, as well as showing videos on board to advise passengers not to bring in meat products, most passengers who were fined still said that they were “not aware of the regulations.” Some even thought that as long as it was not perishable food or raw meat, it was OK to bring in processed and vacuum-packed meat products.
Photo courtesy of Taipei Customs, Customs Administration
照片：關務署台北關提供
Preserved pork and sausages are meat products often imported illegally by passengers. The bureau’s section chief Peng Ming-hsing points out: “In the past, once we caught passengers carrying in such items, we usually advised them and discarded the items without actually fining the passengers, which might have given the impression that these items were allowed to be imported.”
On passengers’ misconceptions, Peng stresses that: “Only canned food can be brought into the country. Others products are not allowed.” Canned food also includes “soft can packaging,” such as prepared food pouches within a pot of instant noodles. However, beef canned food for pets is not allowed to brought into the country.
Peng pointed out that canned foods are prepared by using a high-temperature and high-pressure sterilization process, so they can be stored at room temperature without need for refrigeration or freezing, and as a result there will be no problem that they might be carrying diseases viruses or germs. Vacuum packaging only extracts air and so must be refrigerated or frozen, which means that the ASF virus can still survive — and this is why vacuum-packed foods are disallowed.
Photo: CNA
照片：中央社
In addition, in Taiwan there are many spouses from China and Southeast Asia — they may miss the cuisine of their country of origin and so often try to find ways to import meat products into Taiwan. Peng also stressed that this is now completely banned.
(Translated by Lin Lee-kai, Taipei Times)
非洲豬瘟在中國大陸肆虐，沒有疫情的鄰國日、韓和台灣政府都上緊發條，全力防堵。然而，卻仍常查獲旅客卻私帶肉品闖關，違規者常聲稱不知新規定，或以為非生肉、非生鮮、真空包裝豬肉產品就可入境，防檢局上週一破解迷思，盼民眾了解並勿心存僥倖。
Photo: CNA
照片：中央社
根據數據顯示，遭裁罰的旅客包含我國籍、中國、印尼、馬來西亞、越南及泰國等國旅客，也包含取得我國籍的越南及中國新住民，他們從非洲豬瘟、口蹄疫、禽流感等動物傳染病疫區帶回禽畜肉品。
雖然防檢局積極在機場出入境地點加強宣導，也在機上播放影片宣傳勿帶肉品入境，但遭裁罰旅客多數仍表示，「不清楚規定」，更有人以為只要不是生鮮、不是生肉，有經過加工、有真空包裝的肉品就可以入境。
觸法的旅客常常違規攜帶的肉品包含臘肉、香腸等，防檢局組長彭明興指出：「以前查到時，多數是用勸導並要求丟棄置桶，並沒有針對民眾開罰，所以可能讓許多民眾以為這些是可攜帶的。」
對於旅客迷思，彭明興受訪強調：「只有罐頭可以帶入境，其他通通不准帶。」也包含軟性罐頭，像是泡麵裡的調理包。至於供寵物食用的罐頭，則禁止牛肉罐頭攜入。
彭明興指出，罐頭是經過高溫、高壓滅菌消毒製程的食品，可以常溫保存不需要冷藏、冷凍，不會有疫病問題，真空包裝則僅是把空氣抽出，還是必須放冷凍冷藏，非洲豬瘟病毒仍能存活，因此不准攜帶入境。
另外，由於台灣有許多來自大陸、東南亞的新住民，也許會因為想念家鄉味，設法尋找管道夾帶肉製品入境，彭明興也強調，現在已完全禁止。
（中央社）
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