March 16, 2012

 

Taiwan's local pork proves ractopamine-free

 

 

During recent nationwide tests by health officials, no traces of banned drugs used to promote leanness in animals were found in locally produced pork, Premier Sean Chen confirmed Wednesday (Mar 13).

 

"In terms of leanness-enhancing drugs, there have been zero traces. This means the meat is 100% free," Chen said in response to media inquiries about whether Taiwan's pork was contaminated by leanness-enhancing drugs.

 

Chen stated that the Cabinet-level Department of Health (DOH) had conducted food safety checks on samples taken from traditional markets, supermarkets, shopping malls and restaurants around the country.

 

"The test results are highly representative," he said, explaining that the DOH had tested both fresh and processed pork products.

 

However, the premier would not deny the possibility that similar tests run by the private sector could show the existence of residues of leanness-enhancing drugs in meat products, Chen said.

 

Chen's statement came after recent reports that local brands of processed pork products and fresh pork meat sold in supermarkets allegedly contained the banned muscle-growth drugs salbutamol and cimaterol.

 

Salbutamol and cimaterol are banned around the world because of their high toxicity, according to the Council of Agriculture.

 

Also on Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) pointed out that as of March 12 this year, the FDA has screened 98 samples of fresh pork meat and processed pork products including sausages and hams, none of which has been found to contain traces of leanness enhancers.

 

Any irregular findings will be made public as soon as test results are produced, FDA officials said.

 

As for a controversial report that two sausage products made by two local food companies were tainted by banned leanness-enhancing drugs, the FDA officials said the companies have been asked to temporarily take the allegedly tainted products off shelves and wait for test results.

 

Separately, the Ministry of National Defense said Wednesday that it will impose tighter checks on meat to be consumed by the military.

 

Questioned by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chen Ting-fei on the ministry's response to safety concerns over meat products, Defense Minister Kao Hua-chu said the ministry has been following the government regulations to carry out spot checks on the meat.

 

Pushed by Chen on stricter measures to ensure food safety, Kao said the ministry will expand measures to check meat products batch by batch.