February 27, 2024

Taiwan's Premier suggests cross-contamination may explain pork additive scare

Taiwan's Premier Chen Chien-jen informed lawmakers that a potential case of cross-contamination could have led Taichung Health Bureau to mistakenly detect banned additives in a sample of pork slices provided by Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar), Taipei Times reported.

The Taichung Health Bureau announced on February 2, 2024, that a sample of Taisugar's “Pork Boston Butt, Sliced” contained 0.002 parts per million (ppm) of cimbuterol in a test conducted on Jan. 15 at a General Welfare Service store in Taichung.

Since then, the government and local health authorities have conducted additional tests on pork products across the nation, all of which have shown no traces of cimbuterol.

Premier Chen stated that while there is no direct evidence of error at the municipal agency's laboratory, no plausible alternative explanation has been identified. He cited the Taichung Health Bureau's report, which conducted 22 tests on the same pork sample to detect minute traces of cimbuterol.

When a banned substance is detected in a food product, standard protocol dictates that the testing agency notifies the government for verification. Taisugar should have been informed of the finding and given 15 days to confirm it with another laboratory, which was not followed by the Taichung Health Bureau.

Acting Taiwan Minister of Agriculture Chen Junne-jih emphasised that pork prices remained unaffected by the additive scare, indicating strong public confidence in the safety of domestic pork.

Taiwan's Minister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua highlighted that Taisugar incurred losses of NTD 52 million (US$1.65 million) due to the recall of the product and expressed hope for compensation for damage to the brand's reputation.

-      Taipei Times