The legislature yesterday sent 10 draft bills on the use of leanness enhancers to one of its committees, which is set to deliberate on each proposal next week.
In addition to the 10 bills submitted by ruling and opposition lawmakers, the Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee had received four bills — including one proposed by the People First Party — on Friday last week.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Tsai Chin-lung (蔡錦隆), one of the committee’s conveners, said the committee would review bills on amending the food safety law on Wednesday.
Photo: Lo Pei-der, Taipei Times
The use of ractopamine, a feed additive banned in Taiwan and many other countries, but allowed in the US, has been a subject of hot debate, especially after the Cabinet announced late on Monday night that it was planning to conditionally relax its ban on imports of US beef containing the drug.
Among the bills sent for review yesterday, those submitted by the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus and several DPP lawmakers, along with one put forward by KMT Legislator Yang Li-huan (楊麗環), proposed a zero-tolerance stance on the level of leanness enhancers for meat products.
Bills submitted by DPP legislators Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀) and Chiu Chin-wei (邱志偉) called for mandatory labeling of drug residue levels on meat products and for the point of origin of products tol also be disclosed.
In addition, a bill by Taiwan Solidarity Union Legislator Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) would give the legislature the power to review safety levels for pesticide and drug residue in food.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
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