New regulations allowing beef to have up to 10 parts per billion (ppb) of ractopamine residue became effective today.
At an Executive Yuan meeting, Premier Chen said that in order to ensure imported beef products meet this standard and sustain consumer confidence, the Department of Health (DOH) must strengthen border checks and prompt local health departments to stringently monitor products on the market while regularly releasing inspection results. He also called for relevant organizations to step up their publicity on the issue while taking care not to foster misconceptions about any particular region's or nation's beef.
The DOH, using Article 11 of the Act Governing Food Sanitation and a supplementary resolution by the Legislature as its basis and taking into consideration the dietary habits of Taiwanese, the development of the domestic market and the standards adopted by the United Nations' Codex Alimentarius Commission, announced on September 11 the revision of Article 3 of the Standards for Veterinary Drug Residue Limits in Foods to introduce the new ractopamine limit, the premier said.
The premier also pointed out that in accordance with Article 17-1 of the Act Governing Food Sanitation, the DOH has promulgated regulations requiring that beef products include labels indicating the beef's origin.
Chen directed the DOH and other relevant organizations to keep informing businesses and communities that establishments selling packaged beef (such as stores, wholesale outlets, hypermarkets, supermarkets, convenience stores, general stores and traditional markets) or serving beef products directly (like restaurants, fast food chains, night markets, food stands and gourmet streets) are obliged by law to provide consumers clear and sufficient information about these products, including packaged goods containing beef such as beef jerky and instant beef noodles.