TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taichung City has launched a labeling campaign aimed at letting hog farmers and meat producers tell customers their product does not contain residues of the leanness drug ractopamine, reports said Friday (Sept. 11).

The city is ruled by the KMT, which is demanding a national referendum about last month’s government decision to end a ban on pork from the United States beginning Jan. 1. The move has been described as a positive step in the direction of a bilateral trade agreement with the U.S., but local hog farmers and consumers activists have opposed the initiative.

Taichung is printing 30,000 labels that will allow meat producers, distributors, restaurants and other merchants to tell consumers about the origin and safety of their beef and pork, CNA reported. While the central government’s import restrictions should end in January, Taichung intends to maintain a complete ban on any level of ractopamine in meat.

Even products with less than the officially approved maximum level of the drug will lead to fines if they are found in the central Taiwan city, officials warned. The fines range from NT$60,000 (US$2,000) to NT$200 million, as stipulated by existing regulations. However, if the maximum level set by the central government is not exceeded, fines would be between NT$30,000 and NT$100,000.