While the traceability certification system promoted by the Council of Agriculture (COA) safeguards consumers' rights and environmental sustainability and has clearly reduced the risk of food consumption, so far it has only been applied to 1.5 percent of the value of Taiwanese agricultural products (NT$3.9 billion (US$134 million)), so more efforts must be taken to expand its use, Premier Sean Chen said today.
The COA reported to Chen about the system's planning and promotion at today's Executive Yuan Council meeting. Chen said that as consumers are becoming more knowledgeable, their need for the system is greater than ever, and the COA should take advantage of this to expand the program's application in the agricultural sector.
In keeping with the Department of Health (DOH)-endorsed revision to Article 17-1 of the Act Governing Food Sanitation last year, the COA promoted a domestic beef traceability system and announced that beef products should be labeled with their place of origin. The labeling policy has been a success; according to a DOH inspection, 99.8% of domestic and imported beef products now have such labeling, and the producers not meeting the standards must conform within a specified period of time.
"We must continue implementing the agricultural and domestic beef traceability systems," Chen said. "We import American beef, but America has not yet established a perfect system of its own. If we have one, then we can ask that the U.S. establish traceability systems for food and feed additives in future negotiations. This would help us resolve issues like whether American beef imports have traces of ractopamine much more easily," he said.
The COA traceability system links together information about Taiwan's cattle ranches and slaughterhouses and beef wholesalers. Using ear tagging to identify and follow cattle, it builds a cattle management database and applies cloud computing to food safety. "This program meets industry needs and has application value," the COA says. "It gives consumers access to information and helps producers label their products."