The government-run Taiwan Livestock Research Institute on Wednesday encouraged domestic dairy producers to use a locally developed microbe detection technique to improve quality control and maintain competitiveness.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture’s research institute, TLRI director general Huang Jeng-fang (黃振芳) was cited as saying that once a dairy product sample is received, adding that the technique could test for 15 types of microbes within two-and-a-half hours.
The import of liquid dairy products from New Zealand would receive zero-tariff treatment starting Jan. 1 next year, Huang said, adding that “it is of great urgency” to enhance the safety and quality of domestic dairy products.
Photo: CNA
The zero tariffs measure is part of the Taiwan-New Zealand Economic Cooperation Agreement signed in 2013.
All 15 indicative types of microbes affect product quality and stability, although domestic dairy products most commonly test positive for streptococcal and staphylococcus-related microbes, Huang said.
He added that with the proposed detection method, a test report is provided as a reference and cows could be given medication according to the microbe(s) for which they test positive, allowing for timely treatment if they have diseases such as mastitis.
Farms in need of the testing service could contact the TLRI’s Northern Region Branch for more information, the institute said.
Farms treat cows after milkers discover hard spots on their udders. By applying the domestically developed detection technique, cows in need could receive treatment more expeditiously, it added.
It has participated in the International Committee for Animal Recording Proficiency Test every March and September since 2017, and achieved 100 percent accuracy in microbe detection each year, the institute said.
The institute also participated for the first time in a detection proficiency test in Taiwan, held by Super Laboratory Co last year, in which it achieved good results, it said.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its