Allowing the importation of pork with ractopamine residue is a trade matter, not a safety issue, an Executive Yuan official said yesterday, adding that no health problems have been reported since the ban was lifted.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, made the remarks ahead of the Dec. 18 referendum, which includes a question asking voters if they agree that the government should ban the importation of pork products containing ractopamine residue.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) is urging the public to vote “no” on the referendum question, which was initiated by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lin Wei-chou (林為洲).
Photo: CNA
The official said that 109 countries allow imports of pork and beef containing safe levels of ractopamine residue, including Japan and the 10 other members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
No health problems have been reported since Taiwan nine years ago allowed the importation of beef containing safe levels of ractopamine residue, the official said, adding that the issue is a trade matter in which Taiwan must reciprocate in bilateral trade with other countries.
If Taiwan does not follow international rules, based on science and safety standards, it could face problems joining the CPTPP and other regional trade organizations, the official said.
DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) on Friday wrote on Facebook that a Taichung City Government Web site, which shows the results of ractopamine testing, listed only beef products as containing the substance, the importation of which began under former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT.
“Just in Taichung, tests found that 70 shops had beef products with ractopamine at levels within international safety standards. This proves that it is not a food safety issue. It is more important to open up for beef and pork imports with safe levels of ractopamine,” Wang wrote. “This way we can secure more favorable terms for our export economy, while helping Taiwan join the CPTPP and bolster Taiwan-US relations.”
On the other hand, KMT Legislator Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) yesterday launched a campaign in Taipei titled “Food Safety First,” in which he said that 60.9 percent of Taiwanese opposed importing “pork containing ractopamine” in a survey by Apollo Co.
Sixty-six percent of respondents said they would vote in the referendum, and 86.5 percent said that clear labeling for “pork containing ractopamine” is needed, he said.
“These numbers show the public’s concern for food safety. They have no faith in the government’s current measures. People are also angry at the ruling party for misleading them in painting opposition to ‘ractopamine pork’ as opposition to ‘US pork,’” he said.
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai