The Department of Health (DOH) yesterday promised to conduct vigorous inspections of US bone-in beef after the first batch of six packages of US beef arrived in Taiwan after a five-year hiatus.
The first batch arrived on EVA Air flight BR-025, which left Seattle and arrived in Taiwan yesterday morning.
Food and Drug Administration Director-General Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲) attended the first inspection as the 163.7kg of US T-bone steaks and ribs were being examined by officials from the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection, the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine and customs agents.
“We carried out strict tests on this batch in accordance with the law so it may take some time for the results to come out,” Kang said.
Kang said the first batch of US bone-in beef contained three boxes of T-bone steaks weighing 92.6kg and three boxes of ribs weighing 71.1kg.
They were cut on Jan. 5 and packed on Jan. 7.
After the beef went through an X-ray machine, inspectors checked the paperwork, opened the boxes and took samples for analysis.
Kang said that the results would be available within five days.
Initial results showed that the batch was qualified for import because it had quarantine and export papers attached and did not include six products considered hazardous — ground beef, beef offal and other parts such as skulls, eyes and intestines banned from entering the country in line with an amendment passed by the Legislative Yuan that reversed a protocol signed by Taipei and Washignton last October.
Officials were set to also inspect the beef in each of the six packages to ensure that the products are safe for consumption, Kang said.
Any of the meat found unacceptable would be shipped back to the US or destroyed, he said.
Imports of US bone-in beef have been the center of a dispute for months in the county because of widespread public fears of mad cow disease.
The second batch of about 105kg of US bone-in beef is scheduled to arrive next Friday.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JIMMY CHUANG
Kenting National Park service technician Yang Jien-fon (楊政峰) won a silver award in World Grand Prix Photography Awards Spring Season for his photograph of two male rat snakes intertwined in combat. Yang’s colleagues at Kenting National Park said he is a master of nature photography who has been held back by his job in civil service. The awards accept entries in all four seasons across six categories: architectural and urban photography, black-and-white and fine art photography, commercial and fashion photography, documentary and people photography, nature and experimental photography, and mobile photography. Awards are ranked according to scores and divided into platinum, gold and
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus yesterday said it opposes the introduction of migrant workers from India until a mechanism is in place to prevent workers from absconding. Minister of Labor Hung Sun-han (洪申翰) on Thursday told the Legislative Yuan that the first group of migrant workers from India could be introduced as early as this year, as part of a government program. The caucus’ opposition to the policy is based on the assessment that “the risk is too high,” KMT caucus secretary-general Lin Pei-hsiang (林沛祥) said. Taiwan has a serious and long-standing problem of migrant workers absconding from their contracts, indicating that
SPACE VETERAN: Kjell N. Lindgren, who helps lead NASA’s human spaceflight missions, has been on two expeditions on the ISS and has spent 311 days in space Taiwan-born US astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren is to visit Taiwan to promote technological partnerships through one of the programs organized by the US for its 250th national anniversary. Lindgren would be in Taiwan from Tuesday to Saturday next week as part of the US Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs’ US Speaker Program, organized to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) said in a statement yesterday. Lindgren plans to engage with key leaders across the nation “to advance cutting-edge technological partnerships and inspire the next generation of scientists and engineers,”
TRADE-OFF: Beijing seeks to trade a bowl of tempura for a Chinese delicacy, an official said, while another said its promises were attempts to interfere in the polls The government must carefully consider the national security implications of building a bridge connecting Kinmen County and Xiamen, China, the Public Construction Commission (PCC) said yesterday. PCC Commissioner Derek Chen (陳金德), who is also a minister without portfolio, made the remarks in a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, after Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Hsu Fu-kuei (徐富癸) asked about China’s proposal of new infrastructure projects to further connect Kinmen and Lienchiang (Matsu) counties with Xiamen. China unveiled the bridge plan, along with nine other policies for Taiwan, on Sunday, the last day of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun’s (鄭麗文) visit
RSS