Migrant workers who are caught illegally importing meat products from areas affected by African swine fever or receive such products without notifying the authorities would be fined, have their employment permits revoked and be deported, the Ministry of Labor said in a statement on Friday.
Taiwan has been on alert as international deliveries have been found to contain meat products that tested positive for African swine fever, the ministry said.
A package from Thailand was flagged by a post office in Tainan on Dec. 15 last year after it was found to contain sausages. A lab test on Dec. 17 found that the sausages contained the virus.
Photo courtesy of the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine via CNA
The initial result was confirmed by a test conducted by the Council of Agriculture on Dec. 22.
With the Lunar New Year holiday approaching, the ministry reminded migrant workers not to illegally import meat products, buy such products from unknown origins online, or ask friends or family members to send them to Taiwan.
People who are found to have illegally imported such products face a jail term of up to seven years and a fine of up to NT$3 million (US$108,342), it said.
Any parcels containing meat products sent by family or friends overseas should be given to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine or a local animal protection office to be destroyed, the ministry said, adding that breaches would result in fines of up to NT$150,000 based on the Employment Service Act (就業服務法).
The government might also revoke an offender’s employment permit, ask them to leave the country and bar them from working in Taiwan, it said.
The ministry also reminded employers to inform their foreign staff about African swine fever prevention laws and regulations.
Employers should also ensure that food waste from migrant workers’ dormitories is not sent to pig farms, the ministry said.
African swine fever is not known to infect humans, but can be fatal to pigs, and an outbreak might devastate the country’s high-value pig farming industry.
The law requires kitchen waste to be steam-heated at no less than 90°C for about an hour to kill the virus.
On Aug. 23, Kaohsiung police seized 40 packages of shredded chicken and 20 packages of beef jerky, weighing 17kg in total, from the dorm room of a Vietnamese migrant worker. The shredded chicken later tested positive for African swine fever.
A week earlier, 71kg of illegally imported meat products from Vietnam were seized in New Taipei City. They were later also found to contain the virus.
Migrant workers who have questions about African swine fever should call the 1955 counseling and protection hotline, the ministry said.
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