The nation is to conditionally open its market to beef imports from Japan, Sweden and the Netherlands, ending a 14-year ban on beef from the three countries, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Monday.
Taiwan in 2003 banned beef imports from the three countries because of the risk they might contain bovine spongiform encephalopathy, commonly known as mad cow disease, FDA Division of Food Safety section head Wu Tsung-hsi (吳宗熹) said.
To get a ban on beef imports from mad cow disease-infected regions lifted, countries need to apply and then pass systematic and written data screening, risk assessments and expert reviews.
The US and Canada, which had bans on their beef imposed because of mad cow disease, submitted applications and eventually got the bans partially lifted.
The Netherlands, Japan and Sweden applied for removal of the bans in 2006, 2007 and 2012 respectively, but it was not until Monday that the FDA said it had decided to partially lift the ban after a series of assessments.
In doing so, the FDA maintained some restrictions on beef imports from the three countries according to regulations it plans to formally announce in September at the earliest.
The regulations require beef from the Netherlands to be from cattle less than 12 months old, while beef from Japan and Sweden must be from cattle less than 30 months old.
In addition, the parts of cattle considered more at risk of transmitting the disease, such as the tonsils, marrow and spine, must be removed after the animal is slaughtered and the beef must be from certified factories that have a veterinarian on site to supervise the process.
Taiwan relies on imports for 94 percent of its beef needs, with most foreign beef coming from the US and Australia.
Taiwan allows beef imports from the US, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Paraguay, the FDA said.
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