The Taichung Health Bureau yesterday began retesting frozen pork sold by Taiwan Sugar Corp (Taisugar) that had tested positive for trace amounts of cimbuterol, a banned leanness-enhancing additive.
The new tests came after inspections and testing by the Council of Agriculture and the Food, and Drug Administration (FDA) found no issues at the pig farm or meat packing plant, or with samples taken from the same batch of frozen sliced pork.
Eleven people, including five from the FDA, one from Taisugar, four from the Taichung City Government and one outside expert, would observe the bureau’s testing procedures to ensure the results are credible, bureau Director Tseng Tzu-chan (曾梓展) told a routine news conference.
Photo: CNA
The findings are expected to be released today at the earliest, he said, adding that the bureau would wait for the results before considering issues such as fines or penalties for Taisugar.
Earlier, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Victor Wang (王必勝) expressed skepticism over the bureau’s initial findings and urged regulators to be more cautious about making public comments.
The bureau said it had found 0.002 parts per million (ppm) of cimbuterol in the sliced pork, which is near the 0.001ppm detection limit, Wang said.
The FDA, SGS Taiwan and regulators in other cities and counties tested the same batch of pork more than 60 times without replicating Taichung’s results, Wang said.
“We can say that the Taichung Food and Safety Office has the only pack of meat that tested positive,” he said. “It is time to seriously consider the possibility that the lab made a mistake.”
Cimbuterol is not commonly used as it is costly, he said, adding that Taisugar, as one of the largest brand names in pig farming and meatpacking, has almost no reason to risk damaging its reputation.
The bureau tested the same samples 22 times, but the results were inconsistent, with the highest figure being more than 10 times higher than the lowest figure, he said.
The bureau’s published findings were cherry-picked from the higher-end results, which is likely a breach of FDA-approved testing protocols, Wang sad.
Rumors that Taisugar mixed imported pork into its products are untrue, as Taiwan tests every batch of pork imported into the nation and has found none that contain leanness-enhancing additives, including cimbuterol, he said.
“Matters of food safety cannot be decided by results coming out of one lab, and dubious [test] values should be cautiously scrutinized and verified before regulators take action,” Wang said.
FDA Deputy Director-General Wang Der-yuan (王德原) said the bureau had asked the agency to assist in verifying the results, but rescinded its request after being told that new tests could not be completed before Friday.
Regulators should weigh the potential impact on public health before making disclosures about initial test results, he said, adding that pork produced seven months ago could not be recalled effectively.
Separately yesterday, Premier Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said that tests conducted or commissioned by government agencies found no traces of illegal leanness-enhancing additives in 66 pig specimens and Taisugar pork samples.
The government is testing every batch of pork that is imported, he said, adding that people can enjoy the Lunar New Year holiday knowing that the meat in Taiwan’s markets is safe.
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