Clenbuterol enters the country! Hu Zhiqiang: Strict control and zero detection

Taichung Mayor Hu Chih-chiang emphasized at a municipal meeting on the 12th that the current central government policy on ractopamine in American beef is still "zero detection," and the city government will continue to conduct strict inspections to protect the health of citizens. As for the future opening up, the local government will respect the central government's decision, but hopes that the central government will stand on the position of "ensuring the health of the people and respecting the rights of consumers," and do a good job in setting standards for beef products and clearly labeling the content of ractopamine to ensure the safety of food for the people.

Taichung City Government Health Bureau Director Huang Meina reported the city government's response measures to ractopamine in American beef at a city government meeting today. Huang Meina said that there are six American beef importers in Taichung City, and the Health Bureau conducts random inspections on all imported goods every two weeks. As of March 11, more than 600 companies have been inspected, 800 kilograms of beef have been seized, and two cases of positive detection of ractopamine have been dealt with.

She said that this week all health center staff will be mobilized to conduct a comprehensive inventory of all manufacturers and require manufacturers to clearly label their products. In addition, a pharmaceutical manufacturer in Taichung City has also provided 4,000 doses of rapid screening reagents for clenbuterol, which have been distributed to various relevant units. Once a problem is detected, the Health Bureau will be notified immediately for processing. The Health Bureau will also increase the frequency of random inspections and strictly control them.

Director of the Agriculture Bureau, Tsai Ching-chiang, pointed out that from the 100th year to the present, the Agriculture Bureau has been conducting random inspections on feed on the market. So far, no clenbuterol has been detected in some parts of Taichung City. In addition to the issue of clenbuterol in beef, the Agriculture Bureau is also paying close attention to the recent outbreak of avian influenza. It will mobilize district veterinarians to cooperate in tracking and monitoring the epidemic. Once any outbreak is reported, it is required to be reported immediately and cannot be concealed.

Hu Zhiqiang said that the central government's policy on ractopamine in American beef is still "zero detection" and the city government will continue to conduct strict inspections. Both the Health Bureau and the Agriculture Bureau have been working very hard to conduct relevant internal inspections of cattle in recent days. Taking the feed on the market as an example, the Agriculture Bureau inspected 18 companies and found no ractopamine, which is a good phenomenon.

He pointed out that in the future the central government has the condition to lift the ban on American beef containing ractopamine, and local governments will respect the central government's decision, but he hopes that the central government can stand on the position of "ensuring the health of the people and respecting the rights of consumers" and do a good job in setting relaxed standards for meat products. For example, the decision on how many ppb the standard for American beef should be relaxed must be made under the premise of ensuring the health and safety of the people.

In addition, in terms of respecting consumer rights, Hu Zhiqiang also hopes that the central government can require manufacturers to clearly label beef products, such as the origin of the beef, the content of clenbuterol, etc., to ensure the safety of food for the people.