A Taiwanese inspection delegation concluded yesterday that beef products imported from the US to Taiwan are safe to eat, after wrapping up a visit to check beef safety in the US, where a new case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE, commonly called mad cow disease) was confirmed late last month.
The conclusion came after the seven-member delegation visited nine slaughterhouses, cattle farms, feed producers and laboratories across the US, Council of Agriculture counselor Watson Sung (宋華聰), who headed the group, told a news conference upon its return to Taiwan.
The slaughterhouses visited are responsible for supplying 65 percent of the US beef that is exported to Taiwan, the council said.
Photo: Lin Cheng-kun, Taipei Times
The 23-day trip to gain was aimed at garnering a deeper understanding of US control and quarantine procedures with regards to mad cow disease and Sung said he found the measures taken there to be “very rigorous and efficient.”
However, the delegation found an oversight at a Kansas-based slaughterhouse in its operational procedure for removing cattle tonsils, Sung said, adding that the US authorities took immediate measures to deal with the issue.
Beef produced at that slaughterhouses has been barred from entry to Taiwan, Sung said.
About 10 percent of US beef imports to Taiwan were from that one slaughterhouse.
Although Taiwan does not import cow tonsils from the US, the oversight was against the slaughterhouse’s standard operating procedures that require the removal of potentially risky materials and needed to be improved, the council said.
The delegation also met with officials from the US Department of Agriculture and representatives from the US Consumers Union, Sung said.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基), who was also at the press conference, said a detailed report on the findings of the inspection trip would be released early next month.
On April 24, a dairy cow at a farm in California was confirmed to be infected with mad cow disease by the Department of Agriculture. It was the fourth case of BSE in the US since 2003.
BSE is fatal to cows, while eating tainted meat can cause a fatal brain disease in humans known as variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease.
Taiwan routinely sends a delegation to inspect US slaughterhouses each year. This year’s schedule was brought forward as a result of the case of mad cow disease.
Taiwan first banned imports of US beef when a case of mad cow disease was reported in Washington State in December 2003 and then reopened its doors to imports of boneless US beef from cattle under 30 months old in April 2005.
Another ban was imposed in June 2005 when a second US case was reported.
Imports of boneless beef from cattle under 30 months of age were resumed in 2006 and imports of bone-in beef were resumed in late 2009, but Washington has been pressing for wider opening and more recently lobbied for Taiwan to lift its ban on beef containing residue of the leanness-enhancing drug ractopamine.
After the government decided to conditionally lift the ban in early March, the legislature is now reviewing draft amendments to a food safety act related to the beef issue and is expected to vote on three draft amendments to the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法) before the current session ends in the middle of next month.
Asked whether Taiwan would send another inspection delegation to the US over the ractopamine issue, Chen said a decision would only be made after the legislature made a final decision on amendments to the food act.
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
Taiwan’s armed forces have established response protocols for a wide range of sudden contingencies, including the “Wan Chun Plan” to protect the head of state, the Ministry of Defense (MND) said today. After US President Donald Trump on Saturday launched a series of airstrikes in Venezuela and kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, concerns have been raised as to whether China would launch a similar “decapitation strike” on Taiwan. The armed forces regularly coordinate with relevant agencies and practice drills to ensure preparedness for a wide range of scenarios, Vice Minister of National Defense Hsu Szu-chien (徐斯儉) told reporters before a
EVA Airways on Saturday said that it had suspended a pilot and opened an investigation after he allegedly lost his temper and punched the first officer several times as their plane was taxiing before takeoff at Los Angeles International Airport. According to a report published on Thursday by The Reporter, the incident occurred after the flight’s Malaysian first officer tried to warn the Taiwanese pilot, surnamed Wen (文), that he was taxiing faster than the speed limit of 30 knots (55.6kph). After alerting the pilot several times without response, the first officer manually applied the brakes in accordance with standard operating
NOT AN OPENING: Trump’s violation of international law does not affect China’s consideration in attacking Taiwan; Beijing lacks capability, not precedent, an official said Taiwanese officials see the US’ capture of the president of Venezuela as a powerful deterrent to Beijing’s aggression and a timely reminder of the US’ ability to defeat militaries equipped with Chinese-made weapons. The strikes that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro signaled to authoritarian leaders, including Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), US President Donald Trump’s willingness to use military might for international affairs core to US interests, one senior official in Taipei’s security circle said. That reassured Taiwan, the person said. Taipei has also dismissed the idea that Trump’s apparent violation of international law could embolden Beijing, said the official, who was not
RSS