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I-Mei Foods confirmed
as source of pork test results
By Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporter
I-Mei Foods Co (義美食品) was confirmed yesterday as the source of test results that
suggest some local hog farmers have been illegally using banned
leanness-enhancing agents, an incident that has sparked speculation the results
were deliberately released to reduce the opposition of pig farmers to US beef
imports containing other feed additives.
Who leaked the test results remains unclear.
The tests dated March 7 were conducted by I-Mei’s food safety laboratory, which
found that seven out of 10 local pork-related products contained traces of -salbutamol
and cimaterol, which Chinese -Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Alex Tsai (蔡正元)
said was more hazardous than the ractopamine given to US cows.
Premier Sean Chen , when questioned by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
Legislator Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) at the legislative question-and-answer session
yesterday, confirmed that the products were sent for testing by I-Mei president
Kao Chih-ming (高志明).
The results were released by Alex Tsai (蔡正元) on Tuesday. In response, certain
media outlets and the DPP said that the results were part of a plan by either
the US or the government to discredit local pig farmers and undermine opposition
to the partial lifting of the ban on US beef
Tsai Chi-chang yesterday asked Chen “who was behind the plot and how Alex Tsai
had obtained a copy of the test results.”
Chen said Kao had ordered the tests, but he did not know who leaked the result
to Alex Tsai.
Chen said that on March 7, Kao sent a copy of the result to the Presidential
Office, along with a letter in which he expressed concern about the safety of
the nation’s food and the failure of the food safety inspection system. The
documents were sent by the Presidential Office to the Executive Yuan on March 9,
Chen added.I-Mei
The test conducted by I-Mei’s food safety laboratory found traces of salbutamol
and cimaterol in two sausage products from T-Ham (台畜) and Hsin Tung Yang (新東陽),
and pork belly, ground pork and some other products sold at Wellcome
supermarkets (頂好超市) were found to contain salbutamol residues. Both T-Ham and
Hsin Tung Yang rejected the lab’s findings.
Following the release of the results of tests conducted by I-Mei, items from the
same batches of products were sent to a government certified laboratory for
testing, but none were found to have contained illegal additive residues, the
Council of Agriculture said yesterday.
Asked about the divergent results, Chen said he was confident in the results
produced by the government-certified laboratory.
Meanwhile, Kao issued a statement saying that he had no ulterior motives in
providing the test results and a letter to President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) other
than to urge him to address flaws in the government’s food safety and inspection
system.
Kao added that he would like to sincerely apologize to consumers, restaurant
owners, franchise operators, and pig farmers for the public outcry and
misunderstanding caused by his actions.
In response to the discrepancy in the tests conducted by I-Mei and the
government, Kao said the I-Mei food safety laboratory had a detection limit of
0.2 ppb (parts per billion).
He added that the company did not publicize the test results because they are
used as reference material for laboratory quality management.
KMT Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) yesterday said the test results made public by
Alex Tsai were provided by a businessman nicknamed “Peter” who “has no political
affiliation and cares very much about food safety.”
“Peter” previously provided the government with test results on methyl alcohol,
prompting it to address the problem of rice wine prices, Lo said.
She denied there was any conspiracy behind the release of the results and or
that the Presidential Office played a role in the matter.
Alex Tsai yesterday declined to reveal his source, saying he did not know the
“Peter” Lo referred to.
He said the person who gave him the test results is a professional consultant in
his 50s and is not an employee of I-Mei.
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