Sprouted U.S. potatoes will not enter Taiwan market: Premier

Taipei, April 21 (CNA) Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) told the Legislature on Tuesday that sprouted potatoes from the United States will "never" make their way into Taiwan's market.

Cho's comments came after the Ministry of Agriculture published updated regulations on Feb. 6, allowing the import of U.S. potatoes with limited amounts of mold and sprouts under 5 millimeters.

Under the new rules, part of the Taiwan-U.S. Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), potatoes with sprouts over 5 mm or that are rotten or moldy above the allowable limit must be discarded immediately. Potatoes with sprouts under 5 mm, or that are rotten or moldy within allowable limits must undergo "extra" processing at processing facilities.

At a legislative hearing on Tuesday, opposition Kuomintang Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔) said the new regulations effectively moved inspections of U.S.-imported potatoes from the customs to processing facilities.

She said many NGOs and parents have expressed concern that the processing facilities would not be able to screen for sprouted potatoes, increasing the risk of solanine poisoning associated with mashed potatoes, French fries and chips.

Yang questioned whether the "extra" measures meant sprouted potatoes would be processed after the sprout is removed.

In response, Cho said imports are first screened before leaving the U.S. to remove any sprouted or defective potatoes.

Should any potatoes be found to have sprouted during shipment, spot checks will be performed on potatoes in the same container, and the entire container will be returned if excessive amounts of solanine are detected, he said.

"If poison is found in additional forensic testing, the whole container will be returned, so it's impossible that it will be made into chips or fries," Cho said.

"Once rotten, moldy, or sprouted potatoes are found, they will be discarded and not processed," the premier said.

The premier added that food safety and public health, along with national and industrial benefits, are the four tenets of ongoing trade negotiations with the U.S., and would not be violated.

Agriculture Minister Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) stated that U.S. potatoes would not be screened at processing facilities, but at other "designated locations."

"It will still be part of border control, because they will be sealed in containers, with officials escorting the goods and supervising the inspections," Chen said.

Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) also said that the potatoes "will stay at the customs before inspection is completed, and they will not circulate to processing facilities."