July 19, 2007

Taiwan rejects US pork shipment for containing banned hormone

Two shipments of US pork have been rejected by Taiwan for containing a banned hormone, a Taiwanese official said Wednesday (Jul 18).

The two shipments, which weighed 24.3 tonnes, were found to contain beta agonist. David Cheng of Taiwan's Department of Health said.

Taiwan banned beta agonist last year, and checking for the hormone was only started then, he said.

Spokesman Thomas Hodges of the American Institute in Taiwan - the equivalent of the US embassy on the island -  said beta agonist does not pose a threat to human health.

The hormone appears under the trade name Paylean, which has been in use since 1998.

Paylean maker Elanco, a division of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly & Co., had applied to Taiwan for approval to use the material in 2001.