A shipment of frozen white shrimp imported from China in June has been found to contain enrofloxacin, an antimicrobial that is not approved for use in fish farming, with much of the shipment believed to have been sold to consumers, a Department of Health official said yesterday.
Cheng Huei-wen (
`not serious'
Cheng said that enrofloxacin is sometimes administered to prevent the reproduction of bacteria in humans. He said the antimicrobial had no serious impact on human health, although it could cause gastrointestinal discomfort, allergies or the formation of crystals in the urinary tract.
The Council of Agriculture prohibits the use of the drug in animal and fish farming in order to prevent the evolution of drug resistant bacteria, he said.
pathogen
In 2005, the US Food and Drug Administration reported that enrofloxacin had been found to promote the development of drug-resistant strains of Campylobacter, a human pathogen.
The Department of Health banned imports of frozen shrimp from China on Aug. 22 after detecting a carcinogenic drug in seven shrimp shipments, Cheng said, adding that shrimp imported from China before that date may still be on the market.
Cheng said his department had authorized the National Animal Industry Foundation to inspect shrimp samples acquired in Pingtung County on Sept. 3 under a program to monitor aquatic product quality.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
A strong continental cold air mass is to bring pollutants to Taiwan from tomorrow, the Ministry of Environment said today, as it issued an “orange” air quality alert for most of the country. All of Taiwan except for Hualien and Taitung counties is to be under an “orange” air quality alert tomorrow, indicating air quality that is unhealthy for sensitive groups. In China, areas from Shandong to Shanghai have been enveloped in haze since Saturday, the ministry said in a news release. Yesterday, hourly concentrations of PM2.5 in these areas ranged from 65 to 160 micrograms per cubic meter (mg/m³), and pollutants were
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