Amid the controversy over whether cow tongues should be categorized as offal, the Department of Health (DOH) and Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT) backtracked yesterday and “advised” businesses to hold off on imports of US cow tongues.
On Monday, officials from the DOH, Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Council of Agriculture (COA) told a press conference that cow tongues, penises, testes, tails, tendons and skirts (diaphragms) derived from cattle less than 30 months of age slaughtered on or after April 1 would be permitted to enter the country because they are not internal organs and therefore meet the requirements set by the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法).
The act, passed on Jan. 5, prohibits the import of US ground beef, beef offal and other beef parts, such as the skull, eyes and intestines, contravening a bilateral protocol signed by Taiwan and the US in October.
Yesterday, however, officials held another press conference and advised businesses to hold off on importing cow tongues, testes, tendons and skirts because of consumer concerns that these parts may expose them to the risk of contracting bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as mad cow disease.
“To ensure the highest standard of food safety for consumers, every case of cow tongues imported from the US will undergo rigorous inspection,” said Kang Jaw-jou (康照洲), director-general of the DOH’s Food and Drug Administration.
Officials said that cow tongues must have the circumvallate papillae and tonsils, which are located at the root of the tongue, removed because humans exposed to these parts are at a higher risk of contracting BSE.
Aside from case-by-case inspections, the DOH has asked the BOFT to advise businesses to temporarily halt imports of such parts until public controversy surrounding whether they are safe for consumption is resolved.
Bureau Director-General Huang Chih-peng (黃志鵬) said he had personally phoned the president of a company that has obtained permits to import 453kg of beef parts, including cow tongues, to hold off on the import. The company agreed and voluntarily gave up its permit.
Despite government assurances, the Consumers’ Foundation yesterday said that cow tongues should be prohibited from entry into Taiwan.
Cow tongues, diaphragms and testes from the US “are internal organs and should not be allowed into the country,” foundation chairman Hsieh Tien-jen (謝天仁) said, describing the government’s policies as “unbelievable” and urging it to listen to public opinion.
Hsieh said inspecting every case would just be the same as “telling the US that we are allowing imports of beef internal organs.”
Asked to comment on the government U-turn on cow tongues and other beef parts, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) spokesman Thomas Hodges reiterated the safety of US beef products.
“I would simply emphasize that all the US beef products covered under the October 2009 US-Taiwan protocol have been deemed safe by the World Organization for Animal Health, of which both Taiwan and the United States are members,” Hodges said.
Hodges did not comment on questions as to whether the change in policy would inconvenience US beef exporters or possible actions the US might take.
Earlier yesterday, AIT Director William Stanton said that some people were using the issue for “political reasons” and that it “has nothing to do with the safety of US beef products.”
Several Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Democratic Progressive Party legislators have opposed the import of US cow tongues, saying they are internal organs.
The lawmakers said Stanton had written an open letter in the Chinese-language Apple Daily in December in which he said, “Americans consumed 58 percent of internal organs of beef in 2008, including beef tongues, beef tails.”
The Taiwanese government, however, said it does not categorize tongues and tails as innards.
Stanton said he still considered cow tongues a type of internal organ and that all the newly added items allowed to be imported into Taiwan were all referred to as offal or internal organs.
ENGLISH DISTINCTION?
“In English, there is no distinction [between internal organs and offal] ... but you have much sharper distinction in Chinese than we do in English,” he said. “Taiwan itself makes its distinction between internal organs and other offal.”
It should not be a problem for cow tongues and other newly added items to be imported to Taiwan as “they did not meet the definition of internal organs as defined by Taiwan,” Stanton said.
Stanton said that “[cow tongues and other products] were not part of the items excluded specifically by the amendment that was passed by the Legislative Yuan [in January].”
Asked whether he fully supported the government’s previous statement that imports of cow tongues would be subject to rigorous inspections in Taiwan, Stanton said: “We have no problem with products being inspected. We are sure they will pass inspection.”
INSPECTIONS
Taiwan’s inspection process is a matter for Taiwan to decide as long as it is not inconsistent with its agreement with the US, he said.
“All of our beef are safe and also inspected in the US,” he said.
Stanton’s comments came after the office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday said it was “very disappointed” because it believed that the inspection method was inconsistent with the US and Taiwan trade agreement.
In an e-mail to the Central News Agency, the USTR said it felt deep regret that Taiwan had adopted measures inconsistent with the bilateral trade agreement.
The USTR added that the US drafted the trade agreement based on good intentions, and that the terms and conditions of the agreement are in accordance with guidelines and principles set by the World Organization for Animal Health.
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