Batch inspection of imported beef will start at 0:00 on the 24th

The Food and Drug Administration of the Department of Health officially announced on the morning of the 19th that in order to ensure that imported beef products comply with my country's relevant food hygiene and safety regulations and maintain domestic consumer confidence, imported beef products will be inspected batch by batch from 00:00 on the 20th.

The Department of Health will strengthen border inspections and market audits on meat starting from the 20th. (Photography by Zhang Yawen)

The Food and Drug Administration sent a letter to all importers today, explaining that any beef, beef offal, and prepared beef products from any exporting country that have been found to contain beta-receptor steroids (clenbuterol) during border inspections or commercial sampling since 2011 will be subject to batch-by-batch inspections upon re-importation starting from the 20th.

Tsai Shu-chen, head of the food group, said that domestic imported beef products mainly come from the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Panama, and Nicaragua. Beef from the United States, Canada, and Nicaragua, as well as beef offal from the United States, Australia, and Panama have been found to contain clenbuterol. These beef products from these importing countries must be 100% inspected batch by batch.

As for imported beef products that have not been found to contain ractopamine, the general 5% sampling rate will be maintained. Tsai Shu-zhen gave the example of Australian and New Zealand beef that were reported to have been found to contain ractopamine. Later, the Food and Drug Administration clarified that they were mixed with American beef. Since there is no record of violations in Australian and New Zealand beef, the general sampling rate will be maintained. As for processed beef products, no clenbuterol has been detected in any importing origins so far, so even for processed beef products from the United States, the sampling rate is only 5%.

If beef products are inspected batch by batch and five batches are found to be free of violations, the inspection rate can be reduced to 20%. If good performance is maintained, the rate will gradually return to 5%. However, Tsai Shu-zhen emphasized that as long as any illegal use of clenbuterol is found during import inspection or monitoring, the border inspection rate will be increased from 5% to 20% or even to 100%.

The Food and Drug Administration emphasized that it has adjusted the volume of border inspections and invested all its efforts in this batch-by-batch inspection management measure. It also called on importers to implement self-management and make sure that before importing beef products, they comply with the current relevant regulations on food hygiene and safety in my country, that is, they cannot contain clenbuterol. Otherwise, they should be returned or destroyed in accordance with regulations.

In addition to strengthening inspections at the border, major actions are also being taken on the market side. From the 20th to the end of April, health bureaus across Taiwan will conduct inspections and random tests on 1,000 pieces of beef, pork, duck and goose meat on the market.