Economy

COA inspection trip confirms safety of US beef

A Council of Agriculture delegation reports on U.S. cattle fattening and slaughtering practices upon returning May 27 from a 23-day inspection tour. (CNA)

• Publication Date：05/28/2012
• Source： Taiwan Today
• By  Kwangyin Liu

U.S. beef products exported to Taiwan are safe for consumption, a Council of Agriculture delegation said May 27 after wrapping up a 23-day inspection of U.S. meat processing conditions.

After conducting close observations in nine major slaughterhouses, as well as feed factories, dairy farms, feed lots and rendering plants, the COA determined that U.S. cattle fattening and slaughtering practices are in line with safety standards prescribed by the World Organisation for Animal Health.

The trip, which started May 5, was a prompt response to official confirmation to the COA by Tom Vilsack, U.S. secretary of agriculture, of the fourth case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the U.S.

Starting in California, where the infected dairy cow was spotted the month before, inspectors visited meat processing facilities in six other states including Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska and Texas, the COA noted.

The delegation closely examined a variety of practices including age determination of butchered cattle and the removal of specified risk materials—tissues such as the brain, skull, tonsils and spinal cord—from cattle carcasses, and found procedures to adhere to the USDA Quality System Assessment program, according to the COA.

The experts identified flaws in the way cattle tonsils were removed at one slaughterhouse, and U.S. authorities took immediate measures to remedy the situation, the COA said. Although tonsils and tongues are not imported to Taiwan, beef imports from the plant in question have also temporarily been halted.

The seven-member team also called on the Department of Agriculture; the American Meat Institute, the largest meat and poultry trade association in the U.S.; and Consumers Union, a nonprofit organization focused on advancing consumers’ rights, to exchange opinions on food safety issues.

Within two weeks, a panel of agriculture experts and members of consumer rights groups will be convened to produce a comprehensive report on the issue, the COA noted.

To ensure the safety and quality of Taiwan’s beef imports, the COA has led such inspection trips annually since 2010. (THN)

Write to Kwangyin Liu at kyliu01@mofa.gov.tw