Businesses using locally produced pork can start applying to use a “Taiwan pork logo” next month to inform customers that their products do not contain traces of the feed additive ractopamine, Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said yesterday.
With the government lifting the ban on imports of pork containing traces of ractopamine on Jan. 1, the council has introduced the logo to help customers distinguish whether shops and restaurants use local or imported pork, Chen told a news conference in Taipei.
The round logo comes in three sizes measuring 10cm, 20cm and 30cm in diameter, he said.
Photo: CNA
There is also an A4-sized certificate which includes the logo on a black background and the statement: “This shop uses 100 percent domestically produced pork,” he said.
Businesses can choose any of the four versions based on where in the store or restaurant they want to display the logo, he said.
Anti-counterfeit mechanisms have been incorporated for government agencies when they make inspections, so people do not have to worry about the authenticity of a logo, he added.
In related news, the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday continued boycotting a report that was due to be delivered by Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) at the Legislative Yuan in Taipei, as they demanded that Su first address concerns over the government’s lifting of the import ban.
The government should convene food safety briefings on ractopamine, send delegates to US pork factories and mandate clear labeling of whether a pork product contains the additive, KMT caucus whip Lin Wei-chou (林為洲) said.
The KMT caucus is “blocking ractopamine, not Su,” Lin said, adding that the caucus would not stop its boycott until the government responds to public opinion.
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang
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