Amid a political climate in Taiwan where around 70 per cent of the public opposes foreign pork imports containing residue of ractopamine, the Kuomintang-proposed referendum on maintaining the ban that was lifted by Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen’s administration in early 2020 is scheduled for August 28.
We make four points on why ractopamine-tainted pork is undesirable in Taiwan. First, when the Ma Ying-jeou administration lifted the ban on US beef imports containing ractopamine residue in 2012 under certain conditions, pork containing ractopamine accounted for about 60 to 80 per cent of the US pork market share. As of 2020, that share has dropped to only 20 per cent or, according to a senior US official, even below 10 per cent.
Taiwan’s unique consumption habits should not be ignored. Not only do we consume seven times more pork than beef, but we also consume animal offal, in which ractopamine can be concentrated.
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Second, it is odd that the Tsai administration allows imports of foreign pork containing ractopamine residue but keeps this additive banned for use in domestic animal feed in Taiwan. Intriguingly, this is also the case in Japan. One of Taiwan’s renowned nutrition experts told us that unlike food colouring allowed by Taiwanese law, what residue amount of ractopamine is acceptable should have never been an issue here since it remains prohibited in Taiwan’s livestock farming.
Third, some might argue that the Codex Alimentarius Commission has already set a standard for the safe consumption of ractopamine, and therefore Taiwan should follow suit. However, the European Union has said that this international standard for ractopamine is not justified owing to a lack of scientific evidence, and it has a zero-tolerance policy for ractopamine. Mainland China enforces the same policy.
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Pig guts fly in Taiwan parliament protest over easing of restrictions on US pork imports
Pig guts fly in Taiwan parliament protest over easing of restrictions on US pork imports
Fourth, the Tsai administration sees the opening of ractopamine-tainted pork from the US as a quid pro quo for entering a bilateral trade agreement. The fact is US President Joe Biden has declared he will not enter into trade deals until he has invested in America first, not to mention Taiwan accounted for only 2.4 per cent of total US trade in 2020.
