TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Carrefour Taiwan on Monday (Nov. 30) refuted a politician's claim that one of its beef products contains ractopamine, a feed additive that has become a bone of contention in Taiwanese politics over the past few months.

Wang Hau-yu (王浩宇), a Taoyuan city councilor of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), alleged Nov. 28 that an American short ribs product available at Carrefour contained ractopamine. “It’s a shame that businesses have failed to communicate with consumers about the use of the additive due to a party's political maneuvering,” Newtalk quoted him as saying.

The politician was apparently referring to the opposition KMT’s efforts to discredit the Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) administration over its decision to relax restrictions on imports of American pork containing ractopamine. The KMT-led protest movement culminated in a brawl involving “flying pig guts” at the Legislative Yuan last week that made global headlines.

Carrefour rejected the claim, presenting documents proving that no ractopamine had been detected in any of its imported beef products. Wang countered by saying that the result of the inspection does not amount to zero traces of the drug and that a Carrefour public relations official has acknowledged it is given to most cattle in the U.S.

The issue continues to hold the attention of the country, and whether the consumption of meat containing the leanness-promoting additive poses health risks is still being hotly debated. Former Cabinet Spokesman Ting Yi-ming (丁怡銘) resigned last month after causing a public stir by falsely alleging a beef noodle restaurant in Taipei used ractopamine-laden meat.