New tests on pork samples show no traces of banned additives: Cabinet

Taipei, Feb. 9 (CNA) Expanded tests in the wake of a recent food safety controversy have not revealed the presence of a prohibited leanness-enhancing additive in dozens more pork samples from the local market, the central government said Friday.

An additional 90 samples from the pork supply chain came back negative for beta-agonists on Thursday, bringing the total number of banned additive-free samples to 625 since testing began on Feb. 3, the Cabinet said in a press release.

The nationwide testing came after health officials in Taichung said last week they had found 0.002 parts per million (ppm) of the banned additive cimbuterol in a type of frozen pork supplied by state-run Taiwan Sugar Corp. (Taisugar).

The Democratic Progressive Party-led central government questioned the veracity of the result and the motivation of the Taichung City government, which is led by a popular mayor of the opposition Kuomintang.

But the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) confirmed on Feb. 7 that it had also detected 0.001 ppm of cimbuterol in the same pack of pork, indicating that the Taichung result was valid.

To ease public concerns over food safety, the Cabinet launched more tests nationwide, adding that an expert meeting will be convened after the Lunar New Year holiday to look into what it called the "isolated case" in Taichung.

Meanwhile, the Cabinet said, though records did not reveal any imports into Taiwan of cimbuterol as an animal drug or a feed additive over the past two years, there were 72 shipments of a combined 789 milligrams of cimbuterol categorized as a chemical during the period.

Four manufacturers imported cimbuterol in quantities ranging from 1-85 milligrams, it said, and their distribution channels will be investigated to determine whether the product has entered the agricultural sector.

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