Strict inspection of clenbuterol expanded to pig farms and pork products

The storm over the presence of ractopamine in American beef has not yet subsided, and even pork has been reported to have illegally used ractopamine. On the evening of the 12th, the Executive Yuan issued a statement on "Measures to Strengthen Inspection of Meat Products", emphasizing that in addition to strengthening inspections on whether commercially available pork contains ractopamine, starting from the 14th, pig farms will be required to submit a written affidavit to prove that the pigs on the market have not been fed with the use of ractopamine, emphasizing the need to carry out checks on the public at every level from the source to the consumer market.

Starting from the 14th, the Executive Yuan requires pig farms to submit a written affidavit to prove that the pigs they sell have not been fed with clenbuterol. (Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Health Bureau)

Executive Yuan spokesman Yang Yung-ming said that in early March, they received feedback from the public that not only American beef contains the lean meat stimulant ractopamine, but some commercially available pork even contains lean meat stimulants that are not approved for use in other countries and are more toxic, such as salaminoglycan. Therefore, Executive Yuan Premier Chen Chong instructed the Council of Agriculture and the Department of Health to expand inspections of pig farms, pork products and consumer markets respectively, and announced the latest inspection results on the evening of the 12th.

The Council of Agriculture has been conducting random tests on 185 hair samples and 190 blood samples from 43 pig farms in Yunlin County, Tainan City and Pingtung County since the 8th. Two farms in Pingtung County failed the test, with ractopamine and salicylic acid respectively detected. In addition, inspectors went to 10 meat markets in New Taipei City, Taoyuan County, Hsinchu County, Taichung City, Changhua County, Yunlin County, Tainan City, Kaohsiung City and Pingtung County to collect 293 samples. As a result, one piece of pork was found to contain ractopamine and salicylic acid.

The Executive Yuan emphasized that pig farmers who illegally use clenbuterol may be fined between NT$30,000 and NT$150,000, and starting from March 14, pig farms must proactively submit a written undertaking to prove that no clenbuterol was used in the pigs put on the market, and the meat market will announce it. For those who fail to provide a written undertaking, the Council of Agriculture will work with local governments to conduct advance random inspections at pig farms. For pig farms that have a record of failing random inspections, random inspections will be conducted 3 to 7 days in advance before the live pigs are auctioned.

The Department of Health has been sampling pork and processed products sold in traditional markets, convenience stores, hypermarkets, department stores, restaurants and meat retail stores across Taiwan since the 6th. A total of 87 items were sampled, and no clenbuterol has been detected as reported. However, the Executive Yuan stated that once unqualified pork products are found on the market, in addition to being confiscated and destroyed, the source manufacturers will also be fined between NT$60,000 and NT$6 million.