Three checkpoints replace the provisions into law. Officials ensure the separation of cattle and pigs

The Legislative Yuan will hold an extraordinary session this week to review the amendment to the Food Sanitation Management Act to allow American beef containing ractopamine. The Kuomintang Legislative Yuan caucus held a press conference today, the 22nd, together with officials from relevant ministries and commissions. The officials said that the inclusion of the "beef and pig separation" clause in the law may pose a risk of trade sanctions, and emphasized that the three-pronged approach of handling it through an accompanying resolution and administrative measures will ensure that the separation of beef and pigs is absolutely implemented.

The Legislative Yuan will deal with the amendment of the Esophageal Act at its extraordinary session this week. Officials stressed that through the three-step process of supplementary resolution and administrative measures, they will ensure that the separation of cattle and pigs is absolutely implemented and that pork containing ractopamine will not be allowed to be imported. (Photography/Luo Huiwen)

Regarding the issue of American beef, the Executive Yuan proposed the 16-word legislative direction of the Esophageal Act: "safety tolerance, separation of cows and pigs, mandatory labeling, and exclusion of offal." The Executive Yuan version of the article released recently states that "domestic and foreign meat products and other related products must not contain beta-receptors, except for safety tolerance standards established by the central competent authority based on risk assessment of the dietary habits of the people."

The separation of cattle and pigs is not explicitly written into the text, but it will be stated in an accompanying resolution that "taking into account the dietary habits of the Chinese people, the safe tolerable amount of ractopamine is limited to beef and shall not include pork and pig or cattle offal." Lin Hongchi, executive director of the Kuomintang Policy Council, said that this approach has made the separation of cattle and pigs essentially part of the law, and he hopes that the temporary meeting will pass smoothly.

Zhuo Shizhao, Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs, said that according to the rules of the World Trade Organization (WTO), there cannot be discriminatory treatment and hidden restrictions in trade. Since the international community has set the safe residue limit (MRL) standard for ractopamine in cattle and pigs, if Taiwan explicitly restricts pork from containing ractopamine, it may be accused by the United States and suffer trade retaliation.

Council of Agriculture Chairman Chen Baoji and Department of Health Director-General Chiu Wen-ta also pointed out that after the amendment, three levels of control will be implemented through administrative measures: the MRL of ractopamine is limited to beef, and the Council of Agriculture will continue to list ractopamine as a banned drug for pigs and other poultry; the Department of Health will not set the MRL for pork; and mandatory labeling of beef importing countries will be implemented on the market.

Officials stressed that since administrative measures have not removed the ban on banned drugs from pork and have not set safety standards for pork, it is guaranteed that the management of separating cattle and pigs can be implemented.