March 30, 2005

Taiwan determined to stop production of unsafe pork

Following a raid that exposed an illegal slaughterhouse in Yunlin County, Taiwan, the Council of Agriculture would enforce agricultural inspections by working with the police and prosecutors.

The inspectors who were sent to investigate the alleged illegal slaughterhouse early yesterday morning were met with closed doors. If not for the presence of the police, they would not have been able to successfully raid the premises, where the carcasses of pigs that had died from diseases were found.

With such future assistance and authority, it would be easier to trace the unsafe sources of pigs. On average, about 600 inspections of questionable slaughterhouses are carried out nationwide every year. This year, however, the number of inspections would be increased by one-third to 800.

Fears over sales of questionable pork were sparked early this year, when reports were filed in 11 jurisdictions in central and southern Taiwan saying that meat made from pigs that had died from diseases had been sold to the public.