TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare, Wang Pi-sheng, questioned Taichung City's decision to publicly announce its findings of Cimbuterol in local pork produce on Monday (Feb. 5), insisting on thorough investigation before disclosure.
Taichung City's Office of Food and Drug Safety recently discovered the banned substance, a lean-meat inducer, in frozen pork slices produced by TaiSugar.
The city health bureau emphasized the immediate announcement was necessary to protect consumers and the health interests of its citizens.
The Executive Yuan expressed doubts about Taichung City's test results at a news conference, citing unusually low levels of Cimbuterol detected. Further investigations were suggested.
Following the detection of Cimbuterol, Taichung City's Office of Food and Drug Safety informed, on Feb. 2, Pingtung County's Public Health Bureau - where the producer was located, and Tainan's Public Health Bureau - where those responsible for product-liability were situated, for further investigation. A press release was also issued.
Organizations like the Executive Yuan's Consumer Protection Committee and the Consumers' Foundation tend to also directly announce the results when adulterated products are found, justifying Taichung's direct disclosure.
Taichung City's Office of Food and Drug Safety stated they have conducted three tests using two methodologies. One of the test results even reached 0.015PPM, exceeding the quantitative limit of 0.001ppm.
Between January 15-19, they claimed to have tested 40 variants of pork from various brands and retailers. Only TaiSugar's product tested positive for Cimbuterol.
TaiSugar has called for a re-examination of the test results from the office and has also sent the sample to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) for reinspection.