In the face of the upcoming opening of US pigs containing ractopamine next year, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has announced that it requires pork-related meat products to be clearly marked to protect the public's right to know. Those who do not clearly mark them will be fined up to 4 million yuan. But Taiwan imports about 120,000 tons of pork (including offal) every year, most of which are made into dumplings, meat buns, braised large intestines, etc. How can people tell them apart? Even former National Health Commissioner Qiu Shuti raised questions on Facebook.
Schematic／
In order to appease the public's anxiety and doubts, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shizhong once pointed out in a radio program that the import of US pigs will be managed in three directions, including
The Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Welfare announced in succession at the end of August, including "Draft Labeling of Bulk Foods", "Draft Regulations on Labeling of Origin of Pork and Edible Parts of Pigs in Packaged Foods" and "Food for Direct Supply to Catering Establishments" "Draft Regulations on Origin Labeling of Raw Pork and Pig Edible Parts". The new system is expected to hit the road on New Year's Day next year, and the notice period is only seven days.
The content of the draft states that for packaged foods containing raw materials of pork and pig edible parts, the "country of origin (country)" of the raw materials should be prominently marked in Chinese on the container or outer packaging, and the "country of slaughtering (country)" should be specified in the standard. as the basis for the identification of origin.
In addition, it shall be clearly marked in Chinese on cards, menus, labels or signs, etc., and shall be marked in a manner sufficient to be clearly identified by sticking, hanging, standing, pasting, etc. Annotate journalists with labels and menus, and the font size shall not be less than 4 mm;The marked type shall not be less than 2 cm.
If the operator fails to do so, according to Article 25(2) of the Food Safety and Sanitation Management Law,
On the other hand, although the Council of Agriculture also stated that all processed foods will be mandatory to indicate the origin, but according to Article 7 of the "Standards for Recognition of the Origin of Imported Goods", if the processing or manufacturing of the goods has completed an important process or the added value rate exceeds 35%, the place of origin (country) of which it is processed can be marked as the country of origin.
In other words, dumplings, meat buns, and tribute balls do not mean that the pork used in the contents must be domestic pork. As for canned meat floss, there is no need to indicate the place of origin, and consumers' right to know will be difficult to protect.
According to import and export data, Taiwan imports about 120,000 tons of pork (including offal) every year. Although government officials have repeatedly stated that the taste of Taiwanese pigs is better than that of imported pigs, Chinese people have the right to choose, but pork is widely used, ranging from fresh Meat products, catering snacks, processed foods, including national delicacies braised pork rice, leg buns, and a variety of pork braised flavors (large intestines, raw intestines, pig ears, etc.). Some industry players believe that these may have long been replaced by relatively cheap imported pigs, and it is impossible and difficult for the public to distinguish.
Former National Health Commissioner Qiu Shuti also raised doubts on Facebook, such as dumplings, hamburgers, meatballs, bento, food stalls, etc., there is no way to label or determine the origin of pork. But there is worse! Agriculture CommitteeWill have announced on 8/28 that the import of ractopamine will be allowed.
The current animal drug residue standards have allowed the detection of ractopamine in beef; now to open the import of US pigs containing Pelin (the trade name of ractopamine), it is bound to be announced to expand to allow the detection of pork.
Drugs can be imported and beef and pork can be detected. Is Taiwan about to join the list of more than 20 countries in the world that allow it to be used? In fact, the vast majority of countries around the world (more than 160) also ban ractopamine.
Qiu Shuti said that when the US uses ractopamine, it can force Taiwan to accept it, but if Taiwan uses it, who can be forced to accept it? No. Only you and me and our children and grandchildren, this group of third-class citizens are forced to accept. Also,
“Do you think that you can identify the product by the place of origin? I’m afraid this will also be defeated by the government.” She said that once the use of the product is allowed in the country, consumers will not be able to use the place of origin to distinguish whether there is Pelin.
◎ Image source / Qiu Shuti Facebook‧Dazhi Image / courtesy of shutterstock
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