Traces of the veterinary drug ractopamine have been detected in two batches of frozen pork knuckles imported from Australia, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The two shipments, totaling 47.25 tonnes, contained 0.002 parts per million (ppm) and 0.003ppm of the substance, below Taiwan’s maximum residue limits.
The legal limits for ractopamine in pork are 0.01ppm for meat and fat, and 0.04ppm for organs.
Photo courtesy of the Hsinchu County Public Health Bureau
The findings came just days after a shipment of imported pork, also from Australia, tested positive for the feed additive at Taiwan’s border for the first time since a ban on pork with ractopamine was lifted on Jan. 1, 2021.
The latest two batches were produced by the same manufacturer as the previous batch, but were imported by a different trading company, FDA Director-General Chiang Chih-kang (姜至剛) said.
The importer of the latest two shipments, Huahung International Trading Co, apologized in a statement yesterday for importing pork with ractopamine residue and pledged stricter controls to prevent similar incidents.
For beef, which has been allowed into Taiwan with minimal traces of ractopamine since 2012, 249,609 batches have been tested at the border for ractopamine, with 2,493 testing positive for the substance.
Of those, only six contained amounts in excess of the maximums and were destroyed or returned.
Beef and pork imports are inspected with the same emphasis on food safety, with scientific analysis backing the requirements, Chiang said.
Ractopamine, which promotes muscle growth in animals, is allowed as a feed additive for pigs in 26 countries, including the US, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Japan and South Korea.
The EU and China ban use of the substance, amid concerns that it has a negative impact on animal and human health.
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