The Department of Health will announce the permissible amount of ractopamine in imported beef in two weeks

The Legislative Yuan passed some amendments to the Food Sanitation Management Act at a temporary session, allowing imported beef to contain ractopamine, but it must meet the safety tolerance set by the Department of Health. The Department of Health stated that once the Council of Agriculture lifts the ban on ractopamine from the list of banned drugs, it will announce a draft of the safe allowable amount of ractopamine. It is estimated that after completing the established administrative procedures, the announcement can be made in two weeks at the earliest. However, according to the supplementary resolution of the Legislative Yuan, even if the new standard is implemented, imported beef must still be inspected batch by batch at the border.

The Department of Health stated that once the Council of Agriculture lifts the ban on ractopamine, it will release a draft of the safe tolerable amount of ractopamine, which can be announced as soon as two weeks later. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

Cai Shuzhen, director of the Food Group of the Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health, said that the Department of Health will draft a draft standard for ractopamine residues as soon as possible, which will be submitted to the experts of the "Food Safety and Nutrition Advisory Council" within the department for consultation. The draft will then be announced to the public, and an evaluation will be conducted after collecting opinions. This process has a legal basis in the current "Esophagus Act", so it can be carried out more quickly. As for the 10ppb residue standard of the Codex Alimentarius Commission (Codex), it will be taken into consideration in the draft.

Currently, our country conducts batch-by-batch inspection on imported beef that has been found to contain ractopamine at the border. Even if new residue standards are announced in the future, the Legislative Yuan will have an accompanying resolution, so imported beef will still be inspected batch by batch in the initial stage to ensure compliance with regulations.

As for the "mandatory labeling" that has obtained legal basis through legislative amendments, Tsai Shu-zhen said that relevant regulations will be announced in the future, requiring places that provide food and packaged or bulk foods to indicate the origin of the beef, whether it is from the United States, Australia or other countries, as long as beef is used as raw material.

However, these measures must wait until the President officially announces the newly revised Esophageal Law before the relevant regulations can be notified and announced. Therefore, the official effective date may be more than a month later. However, the industry has been guided to carry out labeling, and it is expected that there will be little resistance.

Tsai Shu-zhen also said that after all relevant regulations are officially implemented, she will convene meetings with local health bureaus to communicate the enforcement provisions of the new law and how to conduct inspections. She will also require intensive inspections in the first two months and impose fines on businesses that violate the regulations.