Businesses caught supplying meat products falsely labeled as “Taiwan pork” could face fines of up to NT$4 million (US$140,228), effective Friday, the Council of Agriculture said.
Council of Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) on Saturday said that when a meat product is labeled “Taiwan pork,” it should mean that its main raw materials are sourced locally.
Businesses, including supermarkets, restaurants and food vendors, caught using false or misleading labeling could be fined NT$40,000 to NT$4 million, based on the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), he said.
His comments came after the Legislative Yuan on Thursday voted to approve a slew of administrative directives related to a government decision to lift restrictions on imports of pork containing traces of ractopamine and US beef from cattle older than 30 months.
Authorities are reviewing the more than 10,000 local businesses that have applied for the “Taiwan pork” logo to prove that their main raw materials are truly domestically sourced, Chen said.
The logo is a new branding initiative launched on Dec. 1 by the council, and is designed to help customers distinguish whether shops and restaurants are using predominantly local or imported pork.
Meanwhile, data on the volume of domestic and imported pork on the Taiwanese market would be posted daily on the Web sites of the council and the Ministry of Health and Welfare from next year, Chen added.
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