Taiwan announces new measures for beef imports

Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) put forth measures for imported beef quarantine and inspection on Tuesday (Nov 17) amid public concerns over the safety of US beef after a ban on high-risk products such as offal and ground beef was lifted.

With the new measures, the DOH will only permit imports of beef and beef products from cattle younger than 30 months which are raised in countries listed by the World Organisation for Animal Health as risk-controlled for bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) or mad cow disease.

These cattle must have their tonsils and the ileum of the small intestine removed before they are shipped to Taiwan. In addition, the department will also forbid traders from shipping beef offal and ground beef from BSE risk-controlled areas without prior permission from the relevant authorities.

According to the department's officials, the measures also require importers of US ground beef, offal, brains, eyes, spinal cords and skulls from cattle to apply for an import permit from the trade authorities.

Importers must display a quarantine certificate issued by the exporting country for the products, an import permit and a sanitation certificate before their goods are allowed to clear customs.

Meanwhile, the DOH will conduct safety checks on the beef imports and any shipments found to be in violation of any of the regulations will be returned to its point of origin or destroyed.

The new measures were announced in conjunction with the ruling Kuomintang's move to amend the Food Sanitation Act which restricts the importing of high-risk US beef products. However, the proposed amendment failed to get an approval due to a boycott by lawmakers of the opposition Democratic Progressive Party.

On November 2, Taiwan lifted its ban on US bone-in beef, offal and ground beef based on a protocol signed by the two countries last month.