TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) warned on Thursday that pig farms found feeding livestock with food waste during the current nationwide ban risk losing their operating licenses.
Chen’s comments came after the New Taipei discovered two pig farms in Linkou District feeding pigs with food waste. The farms were fined NT$2 million (US$66,500) in total, stripped of food waste disposal and feed subsidies, placed under movement restrictions, and banned from selling their pork products on the market.
Chen stressed that any farm using food waste during the ban jeopardizes the entire industry, per CNA. He said violators not only face financial penalties but could also have their licenses revoked.
New Taipei Mayor Hou Yu-ih (侯友宜) urged farm owners and the public to comply with existing regulations to help Taiwan’s pig industry return to normal operations, per UP Media. The New Taipei City Government ordered the farms to destroy all recovered food waste and sealed their heat-treatment equipment to prevent further use, per CNA.
When asked when the ban might be lifted, Chen said three conditions must be met:
- Completion of government reviews of all farms previously using food waste as feed
- Installation of real-time temperature monitoring and video surveillance for food waste treatment processes
- Passage of legal amendments supporting these oversight measures
Chen added that while substantial progress is still needed before lifting the ban entirely, the government might allow individual farms that meet the requirements to resume using food waste as feed, per NOWnews.
The Young Pig Farmers’ Association (台灣青農養豬協會) called on the central government to ban food waste outright, calling its usage “a major weakness” in Taiwan’s fight against African swine fever, per UDN. However, black pig farmers opposed a permanent ban, warning it could sharply reduce black pigs’ market share, per PTS.
Pingtung Black Pig Farming Association Chair Fang Chih-yuan (方志源) said that because black pigs grow more slowly than other breeds, farmers rely on food waste to keep costs down, per CNA. He urged the government to establish food waste processing centers, warning of the potential risks of relying on landfills and the limited capacity of incinerators.
Fang said he supports an outright ban on household food waste, but argued that plant- and animal-based waste should still be permitted to help sustain black pig farming.
Chen clarified that feeding pigs with food waste is already banned in principle, with only limited exemptions for farms that meet heat treatment and safety standards, per CNA. He also noted that Taiwan’s broader food waste disposal problem must be resolved if the practice is banned entirely.
Environment Minister Peng Chi-ming (彭啓明) said on Wednesday that Taiwan’s food waste treatment capacity currently falls short by 500 metric tons per day, adding that it will take one to two years to close the gap, per Liberty Times.
