The economics ministry on Tuesday turned down suggestions from legislators to have additional labeling requirements for US pork imports. The issue was addressed in light of President Tsai Ing-wen’s announcement in August that Taiwan would open up its market to US imports of pork with ractopamine, a leanness enhancing drug.
Legislators were asking that a new classification code be added to distinguish ractopamine-added pork and pork offals from those without the additive for the sake of identification and tracking.
Economics minister Wang Mei-hua on Tuesday said such a request is not feasible. She said that scientific evidence shows that pork with ractopamine is safe for consumption, and therefore there’s no reason for additional classification. Wang said doing so would be in violation of international regulations.