The legislature’s Economics Committee yesterday agreed upon a non-binding resolution demanding the Ministry of Economic Affairs ban imports of several US and Canadian beef parts.
The resolution came after the ministry said it was planning to allow six selected US cattle parts, including bone marrow, blood, meat attached to the skull, cheek meat, gullet muscles and fat, to enter Taiwan.
The government’s move has angered the Consumers’ Foundation, which accused the ministry of labeling those beef parts as “not internal organs.”
According to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), the import of internal cow organs from nations that have reported cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease, has been banned for the past decade.
Minister of Economic Affairs John Deng (鄧振中) said he respected the legislature’s resolution, stressing the ministry would ensure the food safety of those beef parts imports.
“The six selected beef parts are not internal organs. We will make sure the products are safe to eat,” Deng told lawmakers during a question-and-answer session at the committee meeting.
The ministry has made public a set of import serial numbers for the six selected items on the Internet for one month to collect public opinion.
“After addressing public concerns, the ministry will hold discussions with the Ministry of Health and Welfare before officially allowing the selected beef parts to enter Taiwan,” Deng said.
Although the import value of these selected items would account for “very little” of the total beef imports from the US, the issue of US beef parts could still be one of the many reasons to influence the US’s support for Taiwan to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership, he said, without elaborating.
In related news, Deng said Taiwan and the US are unlikely to hold the next round of talks under the bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) next month due to the US’s busy schedule.
“We wish for the talks to be held as soon as possible, but as far as I know, the US government is fully occupied in seeking Congress’ permission for fast-track negotiating authority on Trans-Pacific Partnership issues,” Deng said.
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