20120223 Public health No. 1 priority, DPP says

Public health No. 1 priority, DPP says

BEEF BALLYHOO: The DPP said the Ma administration was ready to sacrifice people’s health to assuage the US with its ‘obvious’ intention to lift the ban on ractopamine

By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Chris Wang / Staff Reporters

Members of various civic groups gather in front of the American Institute in Taiwan in Taipei yesterday to protest talk of lifting the ban on US beef containing the additive ractopamine.
Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times

Members of civic groups and Democratic Progressive Party legislators hold a press conference demanding more transparency in the government’s closed-door discussions on ractopamine residues in US beef imports.
Photo: CNA

A small group of protesters gathered outside the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) in Taipei yesterday, calling on the US not to press Taiwan on beef imports, while opposition lawmakers and heads of local governments called on the administration of President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) to make public health its No. 1 priority.

Chanting slogans, displaying posters and performing a skit intended to show that imports of US meat products containing the feed additive ractopamine would endanger public health, about 30 protesters, led by Labor Rights Association executive director Wang Chuan-ping (王娟萍), chanted: “Oppose the US imposing drugs on Taiwan,” “Defend the people’s right to health,” “Protest against the US over internal interference” and “Protect the local livestock industry.”

The protest lasted for about 50 minutes and ended when Joseph Parker, an AIT official, came out of the building to receive the protesters’ written statement.

Separately, Yang Guan-chang (楊冠章), director of the nationwide association of hog farmers — the Republic of China Swine Association — said his group would stage protests if the government lifts the import ban.

“We will set up an emergency response team, which will stay on high alert on ractopamine policy, and we will organize a rally immediately” once a decision is made, Yang said.

Meanwhile, Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said the county government would establish rules at local government level to prohibit the sale of meat products containing ractopamine if a public hearing scheduled to be held next month reaches a consensus.

The heads of five local governments headed by the DPP in the south of the nation — Yunlin County, Chiayi County, Greater Tainan, Greater Kaohsiung and Pingtung County — issued a statement urging the Ma administration to make food safety and public health the top priority.

The DPP said the Ma administration was ready to sacrifice people’s health to assuage the US with its “obvious” intention to lift the ban on ractopamine.

One of the conclusions reached in the second inter-ministerial meeting on US beef on Tuesday was that ractopamine poses no health concerns unless 500kg of meat containing the drug is consumed, which is “ridiculous,” DPP caucus whip Pan Men-an (潘孟安) told a press conference.

The DPP legislative caucus was disappointed by the meeting, as the government is to make a final decision based on opinions of only 10 experts, DPP Legislator Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃) said.

The meeting cited only information provided by the US government, which has endorsed the safety of ractopamine, despite reports by the Council of Agriculture, the European Food Safety Authority, the University of Iowa and Purdue University that suggested a negative impact from the use of ractopamine, she said.

“If the Ma administration eventually lifts the restriction, it will be a betrayal of Ma’s campaign pledge,” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) said, adding that Ma expressed his opposition to ractopamine in 2007, while vice president-elect Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said in March last year as premier that “Taiwan welcomes imported US beef not containing ractopamine.”

The Taiwan Solidarity Union (TSU) said it is also strongly opposed to loosening restrictions on ractopamine in meat products and it gave the premier 48 hours to make a pledge not to allow meat imports containing the feed additive.

If Premier Sean Chen fails to do so, TSU caucus whip Hsu Chung-hsin (許忠信) said the party’s three legislators would boycott the premier’s report to the legislature tomorrow when the new session begins.

The lifting of the restrictions on US beef appeared to be imminent following Ma’s comments after his meeting with AIT Chairman Raymond Burghardt and recent Cabinet meetings, Hsu said.

Despite Ma reiterating that there is no timetable or a set position on the issue, Hsu said the TSU suspects that Ma forged “secret deals” with the US during his re-election campaign.

According to a pair of public opinion polls conducted by TVBS on Feb. 10 and Feb. 13, 78 percent of respondents are opposed to US beef or pork imports containing ractopamine, TSU Legislator Huang Wen-ling (黃文玲) said.

Civic groups criticized the transparency of the inter-ministerial meeting at another press conference yesterday, while announcing a “three noes” initiative against US beef imports.

The alliance said it would not recognize the results of the meeting; that its members would not consume US beef products containing ractopamine; and that it would not cease to protest.

The AIT yesterday reiterated its wish that the Ma administration take a “scientific” approach when handling the issue of whether to allow imports of US meat products containing ractopamine.

“Food safety standards should be based on scientific evidence. Scientific evidence has attested to the safety of US beef with ractopamine residues,” AIT spokesperson Christopher Kavanagh told reporters.

US beef is also proven safe because consumers in the US, Japan, South Korea and many other countries have consumed US beef “millions of times” and there have been no health problems associated with eating US beef, he said.

Kavanagh made the remarks when asked by reporters about a statement issued on Tuesday that disproved what the AIT called “misinformation” widely reported by the media that questions the safety of ractopamine-fed livestock.

Twenty-seven countries have determined that meat from animals fed ractopamine, a feed additive used to improve lean-meat production in livestock, is safe for human consumption. However, strong opposition, primarily from the EU and China, meant that the Codex Alimentarius Commission, the international food standards body, is one step short of final approval of draft maximum residue levels.

The draft levels were recommended by the Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives, under the UN Food and Agriculture Organization and the WHO.

Media reports often fail to recognize that both the EU and China may have their own “non-scientific reasons” for refusing to import meat from ractopamine-fed livestock when their cases are cited as examples that cast doubt on the safety of ractopamine, the AIT said.

In 1996, the EU implemented a ban on beta-agonists, the class of drug to which ractopamine belongs, long before ractopamine was even introduced to the market, and it did not conduct any studies on ractopamine prior to adding it to its list of already-banned beta-agonists, the AIT said.

The European Food Safety Authority subsequently conducted a review of existing research on ractopamine in 2009 that focused on scientific and evidence-based studies, but the review actually offered no new research, the AIT said.

“If you ban something before you even test it, it’s not a scientific approach. Food safety standards should be established based on science, on what is safe for [human consumption] and what is the best approach for agriculture. Otherwise, what do you use for the standards?” Kavanagh said by telephone.

In the case of China, Kavanagh said Beijing also had its own “non-scientific reasons” for refusing to import meat products containing ractopamine, but he did not elaborate.