ROC President Ma Ying-jeou said July 16 that Taiwan will follow international standards in setting permissible residue levels for the leanness-enhancing feed additive ractopamine in U.S. beef imports.
Ma made the remarks while receiving Joseph Jen, former undersecretary for research, education and economics at the U.S. Department of Agriculture, at the Presidential Office in Taipei City.
Ma was referring to the July 5 decision of the Codex Alimentarius Commission, a U.N.-affiliated food safety body, to allow a maximum residue level for the drug in cattle and pigs of 10 parts per billion, the same as Canada, Japan, Malaysia and South Korea.
According to the president, the ROC government has been examining the safety of ractopamine over the past few months and arrived at the following conclusions: No major epidemiology studies on the effects of ingesting trace levels of the drug have been conducted; no reports of negative health issues linked with eating meat containing ractopamine have been reported; and 80 percent of the drug is metabolized within 24 hours of consumption.
Based on these findings, the government has drafted a food safety amendment aimed at conditionally easing the ban on ractopamine residues in beef imports, Ma said. He added that there is every reason to believe the bill will pass during an extraordinary session of the Legislature July 24, and that this may help get talks under the Taiwan-U.S. Trade and Investment Framework Agreement back on track.
“As a member of the World Trade Organization, Taiwan risks sanctions if it does not follow international trade regulations,” Ma said. “It also risks jeopardizing any chance of signing free trade agreements with other nations if this issue is not resolved.”
The president reiterated that while moving toward lifting the ban on U.S. beef containing ractopamine, the government still puts public health as a top priority by requiring clear labeling of meat origin and banning imports of internal organs from cattle and pork containing ractopamine. (JSM)
Write to Rachel Chan at ccchan@mofa.gov.tw