The ban on US beef is lifted conditionally! The Department of Health will study the safe allowable amount

The Executive Yuan issued a press release on the evening of the 5th, proposing a 16-word policy direction for the issue of American beef: "safety allowance, separation of cows and pigs, mandatory labeling, and exclusion of offal." In other words, American beef containing the lean meat stimulant "ractopamine" is expected to be conditionally lifted. Health Director-General Chiu Wen-ta said that he will study the safe allowable amount for the human body in accordance with the instructions of the Executive Yuan.

The Executive Yuan issued a press release in the evening, stating that it will conditionally lift the ban on importing American beef. (Photography by Luo Huiwen)

Executive Yuan spokesman Yang Yung-ming said that President Ma Ying-jeou invited the heads of executive departments to hold a meeting and instructed them to conduct a comprehensive assessment of the country's overall interests under the principle of giving priority to national health. He emphasized that the "conditional lifting of the ban" does not include pork or lean meat substances other than ractopamine. The Executive Yuan will cooperate with the Legislative Yuan in amending the law and continue to strengthen communication with the members.

This policy is based on the conclusions of three inter-ministerial technical advisory group expert meetings, namely, "there is no scientific evidence that eating meat produced by adding ractopamine to feed is harmful to the human body." Therefore, the government weighed other important national interests, including the development of the domestic livestock industry, international trade and trade liberalization, regional economic integration process and foreign relations, and then proposed policy directions.

Department of Health Director-General Chiu Wen-ta said that they will follow the instructions of the Executive Yuan. The next step is to enforce the expansion of origin labeling and study the safe tolerable amount of ractopamine for the Chinese people.

The policy direction does not specify whether ractopamine can be used in both domestic and foreign beef. Tsai Shu-chen, director of the Food and Drug Administration's Food Group, said that in terms of future technical implementation, after the Council of Agriculture lifts the ban on ractopamine, if any imported or domestic manufacturers apply for its use, they will review the relevant information and set the residue standard for ractopamine, and border sampling and market monitoring will be implemented accordingly.