70 Pork Import Firms Sign Petition Not to Import Ractopamine Pork
United Daily News, December 4, 2020
Taiwan will begin importing American pork containing ractopamine next year. Nearly 70 pork importers across Taiwan signed two major petitions in Taipei yesterday, stating that they will not only not be importing ractopamine pork, they will also create a “No Ractopamine" label. After receiving a certificate, imported pork can be labeled as “No Ractopamine.” However, the administration of President Tsai Ing-wen has misinterpreted the industry's actions as "helping the government to get off the hook," which immediately angered pork importers. The importers have said that “after almost being killed by the government, thinking that they are trying to help the government to get off the hook is completely absurd.”
This press conference was just held yesterday afternoon, but in the morning when the heads of relevant ministries were interviewed, they rushed to have a say about the press conference, stating that this action allows Taiwan to not break its promise to the United States, creates a solution for the government, and mitigates public concerns.
Helping the government get off the hook? Opposition accuses the government of not taking responsibility.
Government officials have said that if the Taiwanese government enforces the labeling of American pork on whether or not they contain ractopamine, it will create product discrimination and trade barriers. The United States would not accept that, which may lead to trade retaliation afterward. Thailand has recently experienced a similar situation. However, the fact that the industry does not import ractopamine pork is a determination made by the civilians and the market mechanism.
Secretary-General Li Meng-yen of the Executive Yuan also said in an interview that the labelling done by sellers for the purpose of business or protecting consumer rights are business-oriented moves, the Executive Yuan respects it and is happy to see it. The Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung stated that he encourages the independent labeling and is happy to see the results. Opposition party legislators criticized the government of not doing what they should do, leading to the public to have to do it themselves. The government should take the responsibility to assist the industry in establishing the credibility of the label to effectively manage illegal counterfeiting.
Sales falling, government “not taking care of industry at all”
Li Chun-lai, the initiator of the petitions and the head of Huahan Frozen Food Company retorted: “We are doing this because of plummeting sales, to a point where we can’t survive, we have been almost sabotaged to death,” but the government is not taking care of the industry at all. Why would the industry in turn help the government to get off the hook? “It is absurd.” Since the announcement of the opening of ractopamine pork in August, sales has dropped by 20 to 30 percent. It is worrisome that people will not dare consume pork in the future. Those in the industry will become broke, that is why they are standing against importing ractopamine pork.
Li emphasized that the petitions have nothing to do with the government. The most important task now is to restore the confidence of the society, and they hope the focus of this petition won’t be misunderstood. Originally, the day before yesterday, some government officials wanted to attend the press conference, but were all denied by those in the industry. The public was not allowed to attend randomly. The reason that this matter was exposed early by the government was because the day before, Li had asked for the list of all pork importers in Taiwan from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. They first wouldn’t give it, and only provided it after hearing they needed it because they want to do the petition.
There are about 100 pork importers in Taiwan. Li stated that this time, it’s all the large and medium-sized companies who participated in the signing, which counts as 85 percent of the market, holds a great significance. They will not import ractopamine pork and will independently label non-ractopamine pork. Li said that he had previously mentioned to the FDA that it should be compulsorily required that the pork be labeled whether it has ractopamine, like how it has been done for the genetically altered and non-altered. However, the FDA said this would lead to trade discrimination. If that is the case, the FDA should publish the list of importers of ractopamine pork, return to the market mechanism, and let the information be public for people to make their own decisions.