TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — In order to stabilize the availability of pork on Taiwanese shelves, the Council of Agriculture (COA) previously announced that from May through September, the central government would subsidize pork imported from abroad at a rate of NT$6 per kilogram, with a maximum limit of 50,000 tons.

The Consumer Foundation in Taiwan has staunchly criticized the actions of the COA, claiming that pork imported from the U.S. will threaten the livelihood of local pork farms and that hormones, such as ractopamine, used in U.S. pork are unsafe for consumers in Taiwan.

The chair of the Consumer’s Foundation, Wu Jung-ta (吳榮達), said on Friday (June 16) that the government is not being transparent about its rules regarding pork imports, reported UDN.

The Consumer Foundation’s statement criticizing the government over its handling of U.S. pork imports comes after a new policy, one allowing imports of beef from mature Canadian cows, went into effect on Thursday (June 15). The Consumer Foundation publically opposed the new measure, which allows meat sourced from cows over 30 months old, since it was first announced in late April, reported CNA.

The foundation cited a case of mad cow disease that was discovered in Canadian beef imported to South Korea in 2022. The report led to several countries suspending beef imports from Canada.

In regards to U.S. pork, which hit Taiwanese shelves in 2021, Wu said that the foundation conducted a survey of 289 pork products from restaurants, retail chains, and market vendors from January through May of 2023. After nearly two years of allowing pork imports from the U.S., Wu said that the foundation failed to find a single product marked clearly as containing U.S. pork, and suggested that the government was obscuring the origin to confuse consumers.

Among the products surveyed, eight were labeled as having pork sourced from France, said Wu, adding that the discrepancy is concerning.

The Consumer Foundation has called for the government to be more forthcoming about where the pork from the U.S. is going once it enters the Taiwanese market.

Wu insists that the government keenly monitors this, but that they refuse to share the information with the public. In May, the foundation appealed to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA)to release a list of clients purchasing U.S. pork, but the request was denied by the agency, reported CNA.

In response to the Consumer Foundation’s criticism, the FDA said that the government thoroughly inspects all meat imports for hormones like ractopamine, and said that no residues of the substance have been found in tests so far. Contradicting Wu’s assertions, FDA Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said that, with the exception of traditional markets, U.S. pork can be found in prepackaged products, restaurants, and food courts throughout Taiwan, reported UDN.

Wu Jung-ta and the Consumer Foundation maintain that the government has not handled increased imports of U.S. pork properly. Allowing greater imports of Canadian beef may also prove harmful to Taiwan’s domestic meat industry and consumers, especially if the government and food suppliers are not transparent about a meat’s origin, said Wu.