Taiwan Increases Its Ractopamine Detection Level To 1.0 PPB | In a notificat...

Taiwan Increases Its Ractopamine Detection Level To 1.0 PPB

In a notification dated Dec. 10, Taiwan announced it has changed its level of detection of ractopamine hycrochloride from .1 parts per billion (ppb) to 1 ppb. The decision was based on information reviewed by the Taiwan Department of Health which showed that the most reliable assays for ractopamine hycrochloride are High Performance Liquid Chromatography or Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry and the lowest, multi-laboratory, validated limit of measurement is 1 ppb.

From August of 2007 through October of 2007, Taiwan detected five violations for ractopamine hydrochloride in U.S. shipments of pork muscle meat (HS code 0203); USMEF understands that the greatest level found was approximately .8 ppb.  While it is possible to have levels greater then 1 ppb, this decision by Taiwan reduces the risk of further violations in U.S. pork product.   

Although this change in the level of detection has been implemented and announced through government channels, it continues to be a politically sensitive issue in Taiwan. Please disseminate this information only on a need-to-know basis.

For more information, contact Kevin Smith at ksmith@usmef.org.

Taiwan Increases Its Ractopamine Detection Level To 1.0 PPB

In a notification dated Dec. 10, Taiwan announced it has changed its level of detection of ractopamine hycrochloride from .1 parts per billion (ppb) to 1 ppb. The decision was based on information reviewed by the Taiwan Department of Health which showed that the most reliable assays for ractopamine hycrochloride are High Performance Liquid Chromatography or Liquid Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry and the lowest, multi-laboratory, validated limit of measurement is 1 ppb.

From August of 2007 through October of 2007, Taiwan detected five violations for ractopamine hydrochloride in U.S. shipments of pork muscle meat (HS code 0203); USMEF understands that the greatest level found was approximately .8 ppb.  While it is possible to have levels greater then 1 ppb, this decision by Taiwan reduces the risk of further violations in U.S. pork product.   

Although this change in the level of detection has been implemented and announced through government channels, it continues to be a politically sensitive issue in Taiwan. Please disseminate this information only on a need-to-know basis.

For more information, contact Kevin Smith at ksmith@usmef.org.