Source:  Richard Smith, MEATINGPLACE.COM, 1/25/11

Despite the row over ractopamine in U.S. beef, Taiwan is still negotiating with the U.S. over when to resume the long stalled round of Trade and Investment Framework Agreement (TIFA) talks, a senior Taiwanese official said, the China Post reported.

The U.S. decided to postpone a trade meeting with Taiwan after some U.S. beef products found to contain residue of ractopamine, a meat leanness promoting drug, were taken off the shelves of local supermarkets, media reported.

“We hope that the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement  talks can take place as early as possible, and we have been negotiating with the U.S. on this issue,” Vice Minister of Economic Affairs Sheng-Chung Lin was quoted as saying.

To minimize the impact of the new beef dispute, Lin urged the U.S. to work with his country towards a resolution during the talks. “We can use the TIFA talks to solve the problem of using drugs to promote meat leanness,” Lin said.

Taiwan forbids residues of any animal feed additives in meat products. Opposition Democratic Progressive Party  Legislator Huang-Liang Tsai said the testing standards of muscle-growth drugs could be part of the new TIFA talks. It would be unacceptable, however, if the U.S. used the resumption of TIFA talks to pressure Taiwan to ease its strict standards on the drugs, he said.

Signed in September 1994, TIFA provides an official framework for Taiwan-U.S. dialogue on trade and economic issues in the absence of formal diplomatic ties. But the U.S. suspended talks in 2007 after Taiwan banned imports of U.S. beef because of bovine spongiform encephalopathy.

USMEF
Meanwhile, the U.S. Meat Export Federation issued the following statement on Taiwan's decision to test for ractopamine in beef imports from the United States:

The government of the United States is currently involved in discussions with the government of Taiwan to clarify Taiwan's recent decision to begin testing beef imports for the growth promotant ractopamine hydrochloride.  While Taiwan has had a zero-tolerance policy in place for several years against the use of ractopamine hydrochloride, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration began testing Jan. 1, 2011, for versions of this compound in imported beef.

The use of ractopamine hydrochloride is recognized by the Joint FAO/WHO Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA) as well as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration as a safe feed ingredient that helps livestock grow more efficiently and increase the proportion of lean meat to fat.  Ractopamine is currently approved by regulatory authorities in 26 countries (including the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Hong Kong, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, South Korea and others) for its safe use in human food and is under review in others.

Taiwan is sampling at ports of entry, cold storage facilities and retail outlets. Taiwan's FDA has announced finding ractopamine hydrochloride residues in samples of U.S. beef.  The Taiwan government's decision to conduct the testing has created uncertainty in the market and caused a slowdown in beef exports to Taiwan.

Through the first 11 months of 2010, the United States exported 35,228 metric tons (77.7 million pounds) of beef valued at $192.7 million, increases of 45 percent in volume and 54 percent in value over 2009.  The U.S. also exported 27,693 metric tons (61.1 million pounds) of pork valued at $50.5 million, a decline of 30 percent in volume and 19 percent in value from the prior year.

For more stories, go to www.meatingplace.com.