Taipei, June 6 (CNA) The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday rebuffed a demand from the Consumers’ Foundation to make the names of Taiwanese importers of US pork public, citing legal restrictions.

In a phone interview with CNA, FDA deputy director Lin Chin-fu said that the government was not mandated by law to name importers of US pork products unless such firms were found to have engaged in illegal practices.

The FDA’s response comes after the Consumers’ Foundation called for information on the destination of US pork products imported into Taiwan as well as the level of compliance with labeling regulations to be made public, at a press conference earlier Tuesday.

According to Consumers’ Foundation head Wu Jung-ta, the government had promised to roll out five complementary management measures, including clear labeling, source management and import inspections when lifting a ban on US pork containing ractopamine two years ago.

Despite Taiwan importing a total of 1,204.06 metric tonnes of pork products and 1,511.47 metric tonnes of other edible swine products from the United States between January1 and May 29, no US pork was listed in any of the 289 products from retail chains, market vendors and restaurants checked by the foundation, Wu said.

In addition, regulators have not published the results of their own checks into the country-of-origin labeling for pork products, Wu added.

As a result, Wu said the FDA should release a list of importers of US pork products as well as information regarding compliance with country-of-origin labeling requirements.

In a statement following Tuesday’s press conference, the FDA said that of 224,662 pork products checked over the past two years, 72 were found to be in breach of country-of-origin labeling requirements, including nine from the United States.

https://focustaiwan.tw/society/202306060024

Category: Taiwan