《TAIPEI TIMES》 FDA starts batch-by-batch inspection of pork imports

By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter

The Food and Drug Administration （FDA） on Saturday evening announced that border inspections on imported pork would be conducted for every batch, taking effect immediately, as two local importers were recently found to have falsely labeled pork imported from the US as being from other countries.

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The Taoyuan Department of Public Health on Wednesday said that it, with the FDA, inspected pork by Hsin Hsing Frozen Food Co （新興冷凍食品） and Rayton Foods Co （瑞騰國際）, and found the two companies were suspected of falsely labeling pork products.

Hsin Hsing Frozen Food Co since late June imported up to 4,633 packages （94,377kg） of frozen pork shoulder from the US and sold them as hot pot pork slices, but labeled them as being from Canada.

Rayton Foods Co in July and last month imported about 47,164kg of frozen pork collar butt from the US, and sold it as “restructured pork slices,” while falsely labeling them as being from Canada or from the UK.

As the maximum residue limits of ractopamine, a leanness-enhancing feed additive used in pigs and cattle, was set in 2020, and imports of pork from ractopamine-fed pigs were allowed in Taiwan from Jan. 1, 2021, the FDA requires all food products containing pork to declare the country of origin.

The FDA on Thursday evening said the imported pork from the two companies was tested for ractopamine residues, and the test results were negative.

The Taichung City Government on Friday released a list of 81 restaurants that purchased and served the falsely labeled pork from the two companies, while local governments also conducted follow-up inspections on the restaurants that used it, but did not publicize the restaurants’ names.

The Taipei City Department of Health on Friday said it found one restaurant failed to mark the source of its pork products and four restaurants falsely labeled imported pork from Canada or the US as being from Taiwan, Canada or Spain.

The New Taipei City Department of Health yesterday said it found three restaurants that failed to mark the source of their pork products and four restaurants with false labeling.

Batch-by-batch border inspection was initially conducted on imported pork when meat products from ractopamine-fed pigs were first allowed to be imported in early 2021, but as no ractopamine residues were detected in two years, the inspection rate was decreased, FDA Director-General Wu Shou-mei （吳秀梅） said on Saturday evening.

As there is a public concern about imported pork, the FDA has decided to restore batch-by-batch border inspections on all imported pork immediately, no matter the product’s country of origin, she said.

Additional report by CNA

新聞來源：TAIPEI TIMES