TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan will check all pork imports to make sure there is no mislabeling of the countries of origin, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Saturday (Oct. 7).

In a recent incident, the FDA recalled 100 tons of sliced pork from 90 businesses because a frozen food company had mislabeled the country of origin. Erroneous or fraudulent labeling came under the spotlight after Taiwan allowed the import of pork containing residues of the leanness drug ractopamine from the United States in 2021.

FDA Director General Wu Shou-mei (吳秀梅) said Saturday all imported pork, regardless of country of origin, would be subject to checks from now and for at least three months, per CNA. Depending on the results of the campaign, the intensity of the inspections could be adjusted later on, she said.

After two years without finding any ractopamine, checks had been reduced to between 20% and 50%, but the recent incident in Taoyuan City worried many consumers, Wu said. According to recent data, 80% of pork consumed in Taiwan came from local hog farms, while the three main countries of origin for foreign pork were Canada, Spain, and the U.S.