Source:  Richard Smith, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 1/17/11

Two hypermarket chains in northern Taiwan removed U.S. beef from their shelves Saturday after Taiwan's Department of Health (DOH) said that Paylean, an agent that promotes the production of lean meat in cattle, had been detected in three of 24 imported U.S. beef products the chains had purchased, Taiwan media reported.

Paylean contains ractopamine, one of four animal feed additives --- along with salbutamol, terbutaline and clenbuterol --- which are banned in Taiwan. It was the first time banned drugs have been detected in U.S. beef since Taiwan re-opened its doors to the meat in 2007, after suspending imports because of BSE. Paylean was detected at levels between 1 and 2 parts per billion (ppb).

The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) and the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) protested the decision, urging acceptance of ractopamine, media reports said. The AIT is the U.S.'s de facto embassy in Taiwan, as the U.S. does not have official diplomatic ties with the country.

Costco said 160 kilos of fillet and 300 kilos of sirloin were sold before the DOA announcement, and shoppers returned beef products seeking refunds. RT-Mart said it had imported 1,207 kilos of U.S. beef products to be sold at 26 branch stores nationwide. It has been reported that about 90 percent of its beef products had been sold before the supermarket could take them off the shelves, but the information remains unconfirmed, according to The Taipei Times.

In addition, Paylean levels of 5 ppb were detected in each of two batches of U.S. beef awaiting customs clearance; the importers decided to forfeit the beef, Central News Agency reported.

A USTR spokeswoman reportedly said that 26 international organizations, including the Joint Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and the World Health Organization, had set standards for residue evaluation of ractopamine in 2004 and 2006, respectively, with a maximum level of 10 ppb. However, Taiwan has failed to set a tolerance for ractopamine so far, the spokeswoman said. She urged the government to follow the international standard that was formed based on scientific evidence, and to adopt the 10 ppb maximum residue standard as soon as possible, The China Post reported.

AIT spokesman Chris Kavanagh said Taiwan had initially indicated to international bodies it would lift the ban and revise its maximum ractopamine levels to 10 ppb, although such measures had yet to be made.
 

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