Ractopamine: China ‘will tighten ban on Taiwanese meat’ over US pork imports
- More inspections needed after Taiwan lifted its ban on imported American pork containing leanness agent ractopamine, government spokeswoman says
- Mainland prohibits products containing ractopamine, and stopped imports of Taiwanese meat in 2014
At a press conference in Beijing on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for the Taiwan Affairs Office said meat and associated products from the island were already barred from entry to the mainland but the ractopamine issue increased the need for enforcement.
“China has long banned the use of ractopamine in its animal farms and prohibited the import of meat products with such agents,” the office’s spokeswoman Zhu Fenglian said. “To protect the safety of Chinese consumers and to prevent bird flu and other epidemics from spreading here, [we] will strictly bar Taiwan-produced meat products and shipments of such products from entry.”
02:04
Pig guts fly in Taiwan parliament protest over easing of restrictions on US pork imports
Zhu was responding to a query about the mainland’s response to Taiwan allowing US pork containing the leanness agent.
Officially, the mainland stopped imports of Taiwanese meat in 2014. Inspections would need to be stepped up to prevent such products getting in, Zhu said.