The Council of Agriculture (COA) said it would find the sources of three samples of chemical-tainted goose meat taken from markets in New Taipei City (新北市), Greater Taichung and Greater Tainan and conduct tighter food safety checks in future.
The announcement came following a report unveiled on Tuesday by the Department of Health that showed three out of 70 livestock products checked in August contained residues of florfenicol and thiamphenicol, drugs used to treat respiratory disease.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) said use of the drugs is restricted to livestock such as chickens and pork, but completely banned in waterfowl products. However, the amount found in the goose meat samples was only about 3 parts per billion (ppb), far lower than the tolerance level of 100 ppb allowed for livestock products, Chen said, adding that as a result the meat in question should pose no danger to health.
When questioned whether the same regulations should be applied to waterfowl products as to other livestock, the council said it would present a report on the issue after conducting toxicity tests and holding discussions with drug manufacturers in the next month.
Meanwhile, the Livestock Disease Control Center in Chiayi County said the sample found in New Taipei City was from a farm in that county.
The center said the farmer, who has about 1,000 geese, admitted to having treated the birds with florfenicol in mid-June under the supervision of a licensed vet.
The farmer sold the batch of geese 20 days after the end of the treatment, which was in compliance with the standard five-day rule, it said.
The center said it has fined the farm NT$30,000 and demanded that the farm produce test results before selling any more goose meat.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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