Border inspections tightened, number of US beef imports dropped sharply in first report

From 00:00 today, 20th, the import places where imported beef was found to contain clenbuterol must undergo batch-by-batch inspection at the border if they want to import it again. As importers chose to avoid the limelight temporarily, the number of reports on the first day dropped sharply. As of 5:00 p.m., there were no applications for inspection of regulated American beef, and only two batches of Australian offal were reported.

The Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health announced that starting today, it will inspect each batch of imported beef at the border to see if it contains clenbuterol. (Photo/Photo from our website)

The Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health announced yesterday that from 00:00 on the 20th, the border inspection rate of more than 50 imported beef products will be increased to 100% because of their bad record of detecting clenbuterol, including beef from the United States, Canada, Panama and Nicaragua, as well as beef offal from the United States, Panama and Australia.

The government's drastic move has deterred importers. Once the containers from the United States are opened for inspection and clenbuterol is found, not only will they not be able to enter Taiwan, they cannot be returned to the United States either. This is tantamount to "throwing money into the ocean." Therefore, even if the products are allowed to enter the country, companies would rather choose not to report them for inspection for the time being.

Tsai Shu-chen, director of the Food Group of the Food and Drug Administration, said that as of 5 p.m., only one batch of regulated Australian beef offal was reported for inspection in Kaohsiung and Keelung respectively. It is expected that samples will be taken for batch-by-batch inspection tomorrow, and the inspection results will be known in three days.