Minister rejects code for ractopamineLEANNESS-ENHANCING DRUG: Assigning a commodity classification to meat containing ractopamine could come under scrutiny by the WTO, the economic affairs minister saidBy Angelica Oung / Staff reporterMinister of Economic Affairs Wang Mei-hua (王美花) yesterday rejected opposition lawmakers’ calls to assign a product code for US pork and beef containing ractopamine. “Ractopamine is not a [meat] product, it is an additive,” said Wang, when questioned by Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator Chiu Chen-yuan (邱臣遠). Wang said that a product code for meat containing ractopamine would be “inconsistent with WTO regulations.”“The average Taiwanese does not about WTO rules,” Chiu said. President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Aug. 28 announced that Taiwan would lift the bans on US pork containing ractopamine and beef from cattle more than 30 months old, which is scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1. Wang said there must be a “scientific basis” for singling out meat containing ractopamine.

Source: Taipei Times October 19, 2020 15:56 UTC