Doctors and experts from the Taiwan Medical Association (TMA) and the Strategy and Public Research Institute of Taiwan yesterday urged opposition parties to refrain from making the erroneous claim that imported pork containing traces of ractopamine is “toxic pork.”
They were responding to the first round of live debates over four referendum issues held on Saturday.
The debate over ractopamine has ceased to be a scientific discussion, but has become complicated by politics and international trade concerns, National Taiwan University Hospital toxicology professor Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛) said.
Photo: Lin Hui-chin, Taipei Times
“Ractopamine is used as a feed additive for livestock, and traces of it can be found in meat products, both in beef and pork imports,” Chiang said. “The main debate centers on whether it is safe for consumption and how to assure consumers concerned about its possible health risks.”
The international Codex Alimentarius Commission debated the issue, and has set the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for ractopamine based on scientific evidence, risk assessments and study results, he said.
“For Taiwan, we have an even tougher standard for ractopamine. There were many rounds of deliberation and input from experts, and cross-party negotiations in the legislature, before an agreement was made on the MRL, which conforms to international standards,” he added.
“The ractopamine issue is not an issue about food safety, because no pork containing ractopamine residue has been imported, so people have not eaten such pork,” TMA deputy secretary-general Lo Chun-hsuan (羅浚晅) said.
Moreover, there have been no reports of ill health or problems from eating such products, within the limits set by the commission, in other countries, he added.
“Pork containing traces of ractopamine does not equate to ‘toxic pork.’ The use of such a term must be based on scientific study and evaluation,” said Wu Kuo-chih (吳國治), deputy convener of the TMA’s think tank groups focused on sustainable development goals.
The Dec. 18 referendums also touch on the issue of nuclear power versus other sources of energy, Wu said.
“If we continue to burn coal, then it would pose as much of a danger to our citizens’ health. We must learn from the experience of nuclear power incidents in Chernobyl and Japan’s Fukushima. If we cannot guarantee the safety of nuclear power plants, then such a disaster could also befall our children or the next generation,” he said.
“Taiwan currently has no solution on how to treat spent fuel rods and nuclear waste. Moreover, no city or county is willing to take in this radioactive waste for storage in their area,” he said.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源), who is a doctor, said in his keynote address: “The four questions that people have to vote on in the referendum are great challenges for our nation.”
“We must understand that the results of the referendum will have an impact, and will affect Taiwan’s development, and people’s livelihoods and pursuit of happiness. It will also affect Taiwan’s plans for transition to renewable energy and international trade,” he added.
“The government has implemented policies to protect the health and safety of our citizens, while keeping in mind the nation’s future development. We trust that this government has undertaken thorough deliberation and discussion of the effects of these four issues, and that we are making progress in the right direction,” he said.
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