Taiwan | Ractopamine Hydrochloride Update | PLEASE NOTE THIS INFORMATION IS S...

Taiwan

Ractopamine Hydrochloride Update

PLEASE NOTE THIS INFORMATION IS SENSITIVE. USMEF ASKS THAT YOU NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS COMMUNICATION OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMPANY.

While the Taiwan government notified the WTO recently that they planned to implement a tolerance level consistent with the Draft CODEX tolerance for ractopamine hydrochloride, they have not followed through with this commitment as of yet. Because of this, Taiwanese authorities still maintain that they have a zero tolerance for this substance in pork products. While much of the information we are presenting below is official, there are many details which are fluid and have continued to change daily; USMEF will provide notices as often as possible, but we also advise that you work with your importers to gain clarity on some of the details.

On Tuesday, Aug. 28, Taiwanese authorities announced that a third violation for ractopamine hydrochloride had been confirmed in a shipment of U.S. pork. Taiwanese authorities declared that this was a “Third Strike,” and according to their policies, have notified the United States of the following actions:

• U.S. pork with a bill of lading date of August 29, 2007 and before will be subjected to 20 percent inspection and testing for ractopamine. U.S. pork shipments with bill of lading date of August 30, 2007 and after will be subject to 100 percent inspection and testing; USMEF believes at the cost of the Taiwanese government.  At this time, we do not know exact details of whether this is 100 percent of lots, loads, containers or shipments.
• Products arriving on or after September 15, 2007 have to be tested at the expense of the importer and the shipment also has to be accompanied by an AIT-approved document that indicates non-use of ractopamine. The testing has to be conducted at a DOH accredited laboratory and a receipt must be presented that this test has been conducted prior to the product being inspected as part of the customs clearance process.
• The products included in the testing are products included in HS classification 0203; which is a muscle meat category.
• Offals are not in this category, but there are unofficial reports that offals will still be subject to “monitoring at a higher level” (do not know what this “higher level” may be, but unconfirmed reports are that offals will be tested at the 20 percent rate).
• The U.S. government has 45 days from the official notification date of the third violation (which would time out to be October 13, 2007) to present the government of Taiwan with an improvement plan. USMEF anticipates a failure to do will result in a full market closure for U.S. pork.
• USMEF anticipates any findings of ractopamine will result in a rejection of the entire shipment/lot; however we do not know if this could escalate into a country ban if there are numerous positive findings.

At this time, the U.S. government is continuing to ask that Taiwan fulfill their commitment to implement a tolerance level for ractopamine; as their notification to the WTO stated.  As stated previously, this issue is very fluid and we will continue to monitor this and provide updates. This is extremely sensitive and we once again ask that you do not distribute this outside of your organization or company. We hope to have more information to provide to you next week.

Taiwan

Ractopamine Hydrochloride Update

PLEASE NOTE THIS INFORMATION IS SENSITIVE. USMEF ASKS THAT YOU NOT DISTRIBUTE THIS COMMUNICATION OUTSIDE OF YOUR COMPANY.

While the Taiwan government notified the WTO recently that they planned to implement a tolerance level consistent with the Draft CODEX tolerance for ractopamine hydrochloride, they have not followed through with this commitment as of yet. Because of this, Taiwanese authorities still maintain that they have a zero tolerance for this substance in pork products. While much of the information we are presenting below is official, there are many details which are fluid and have continued to change daily; USMEF will provide notices as often as possible, but we also advise that you work with your importers to gain clarity on some of the details.

On Tuesday, Aug. 28, Taiwanese authorities announced that a third violation for ractopamine hydrochloride had been confirmed in a shipment of U.S. pork. Taiwanese authorities declared that this was a “Third Strike,” and according to their policies, have notified the United States of the following actions:

• U.S. pork with a bill of lading date of August 29, 2007 and before will be subjected to 20 percent inspection and testing for ractopamine. U.S. pork shipments with bill of lading date of August 30, 2007 and after will be subject to 100 percent inspection and testing; USMEF believes at the cost of the Taiwanese government.  At this time, we do not know exact details of whether this is 100 percent of lots, loads, containers or shipments.
• Products arriving on or after September 15, 2007 have to be tested at the expense of the importer and the shipment also has to be accompanied by an AIT-approved document that indicates non-use of ractopamine. The testing has to be conducted at a DOH accredited laboratory and a receipt must be presented that this test has been conducted prior to the product being inspected as part of the customs clearance process.
• The products included in the testing are products included in HS classification 0203; which is a muscle meat category.
• Offals are not in this category, but there are unofficial reports that offals will still be subject to “monitoring at a higher level” (do not know what this “higher level” may be, but unconfirmed reports are that offals will be tested at the 20 percent rate).
• The U.S. government has 45 days from the official notification date of the third violation (which would time out to be October 13, 2007) to present the government of Taiwan with an improvement plan. USMEF anticipates a failure to do will result in a full market closure for U.S. pork.
• USMEF anticipates any findings of ractopamine will result in a rejection of the entire shipment/lot; however we do not know if this could escalate into a country ban if there are numerous positive findings.

At this time, the U.S. government is continuing to ask that Taiwan fulfill their commitment to implement a tolerance level for ractopamine; as their notification to the WTO stated.  As stated previously, this issue is very fluid and we will continue to monitor this and provide updates. This is extremely sensitive and we once again ask that you do not distribute this outside of your organization or company. We hope to have more information to provide to you next week.