Eliminate clenbuterol! Council of Agriculture requires pig farmers to sign a written pledge

The issue of ractopamine continues to heat up. On the 13th, the Council of Agriculture announced that starting today, it will adopt voluntary management measures for domestic pig farmers to sign a written undertaking in order to strengthen the use of ractopamine in domestic pigs. At the same time, the beta-receptor hormone (clenbuterol) test results will be released from time to time, and pig farms that fail to meet the standards will not be allowed to list their live pigs for auction.

The Council of Agriculture announced on the 13th that starting today, it will adopt voluntary management measures for domestic pig farmers to sign a written undertaking in order to strengthen the use of ractopamine in domestic pigs.

The Council of Agriculture announced that the failure rate for clenbuterol testing of pork and live pigs from this year to March was 0.28%, lower than 1.6% to 1.8% in previous years. Xu Guisen, director of the Animal Husbandry Department of the Council of Agriculture, said that in addition to the detection of ractopamine in imported beef, from 2008 to 2011, a total of 15 commercially available meat products such as beef, pork, goose, and duck in the country were found to contain multiple beta-receptor hormones (clenbuterol). Starting from the 14th, this will be promoted to more than 9,800 pig farmers across Taiwan. They will be required to sign a pig stake each time and if they do not sign, the list will be made public to strengthen control. The Council of Agriculture will also work with local governments to conduct random inspections at pig farms, and illegal users will be fined according to the law.

At the same time, the Council of Agriculture has been sampling hair, blood, and feed at pig farms since the 8th, and has also been sampling meat markets. Among the hair and blood samples, two businesses in Pingtung County were found to be repeat offenders and were found to contain ractopamine and salicylic acid. We hope to strictly control every level from the source to the consumer market and provide safe pork to consumers.

Xu Guisen (first from left) emphasized that although signing the pledge is voluntary, businesses that do not sign it will have their farm names or livestock owners’ names announced in the meat market. (Photo courtesy of the Council of Agriculture)

Xu Guisen pointed out that there are a total of 25 types of clenbuterol, all of which are currently banned and are subject to government investigation. Most of those found in Taiwan so far are ractopamine, zilpaterol, salbutamol and clenbuterol. The first two are clenbuterol approved for use by foreign governments, while the latter two are not approved for use in any country and are highly toxic.

In order to strengthen the control of domestic pigs to achieve a complete ban on the use of clenbuterol, the Animal Husbandry Department has issued a "Declaration that This Farm Does Not Use Beta-Receptor Agents", requiring operators to sign with the name of the livestock farm or the name of the livestock owner every time they sell pigs to the meat market, promising that they have not used clenbuterol.

Xu Guisen emphasized that although signing the written undertaking is voluntary, businesses that do not sign it will have their farm names or livestock owners' names announced in the meat market. In terms of the market mechanism, the on-site transaction price will be hit, or even no one will buy it, thereby controlling the degree of purification of domestic pigs without the use of clenbuterol. However, if someone signs a waiver and still uses clenbuterol, he or she will be subject to a heavier administrative fine. The first offense will be fined between 30,000 and 150,000 yuan, not just 30,000 yuan, but a higher fine.

In addition, those who violate the use of clenbuterol may be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000 in accordance with animal product control regulations. Those who violate the regulations continuously within one year may be fined up to NT$1.25 million. In order to encourage the public to actively report illegal activities, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine Bureau of the Association has set up a reporting hotline 0800-039131. Anyone who reports and uncovers illegal activities can receive a maximum reward of NT$200,000.