Executive Yuan unveils new regulations on pork imports

2020/11/30

The Executive Yuan announced new regulations on all pork imports Nov. 26, spotlighting government efforts to ensure food safety ahead of the lifting of an import ban on pork containing the leanness-enhancing additive ractopamine starting next year.
 
 Initiated by the Ministry of Health and Welfare, the new measures are in response to public concerns regarding the upcoming changes. The easing of import restrictions was announced by President Tsai Ing-wen at a news conference Aug. 28 at the Presidential Office in Taipei City, removing a potential barrier to the start of negotiations with Washington on a future bilateral trade agreement.
 
 Under the new rules, each batch of pork imports must undergo inspection upon arrival in Taiwan to ensure places of origin and names of processing plants, importers and distributors are clearly marked.
 
 To help consumers make informed choices, domestic pork products will carry a circular label supplied by the MOHW, while imports will have a triangular label clearly specifying country of origin. In addition, food processing plants abroad that have not previously supplied meat products to Taiwan must first receive on-site inspections by MOHW officials before shipments are allowed into the country.
 
 The regulations stipulate severe penalties for violations. Importers of products that exceed the maximum ractopamine residue limits—0.04 parts per million for livers and kidneys and 0.01 ppm for all other parts—can be fined up to NT$200 million (US$6.94 million), while those who falsify or fail to label places of origin are subject to a maximum fine of NT$4 million.
 
 A further NT$260 million has also been earmarked to assist local governments in conducting inspections, the Executive Yuan said. The Ministry of Finance will add new commodity classification codes for imports to facilitate management and tracking, it added.

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)