Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
【United Daily News / Reporters Shi Jingru, Lu Yongming, Li Chengying】
2012.03.13 10:36 am
Even New Zealand and Australian beef, which are supposed to be free of ractopamine, have fallen short? The Department of Health announced yesterday that five samples of New Zealand and Australian beef were found to contain the lean meat enhancers ractopamine and zilpaterol. One sample, detected in Chiayi City, contained the more toxic zilpaterol, marking the first time this substance has been found in commercially sold beef.
The Chiayi City Health Bureau tested Australian hotpot beef slices from the PX Mart Xingye branch in Chiayi. Deputy Director Lu Hanyue stated that zilpaterol is also a type of lean meat enhancer, permitted only in the U.S. and Canada but prohibited in Australia. Excessive consumption can cause heart palpitations and nausea.
Pan Zhikuan, director of the Department of Health’s Regional Management Center, said the detected level of zilpaterol in the Australian beef was 0.8 ppb (parts per billion).
The supplier stated the meat came from Yugu Frozen Foods in Nantou and was intended for hotpot use. The Health Bureau conducted the test on the 6th, and the remaining two boxes were removed from shelves and returned to the company by noon that day. Zou Hesheng, factory manager of Yugu Foods, said 3,010 boxes of this batch were sold, with only 10 remaining in company inventory, all of which were supplied to PX Mart and have now been fully recalled.
The Department of Health also released results from tests conducted between January and March 11 on 219 meat products, with 36 samples testing positive for ractopamine. Among these, 32 were from the U.S., two from Australia, and two from New Zealand. Additionally, one sample contained the more toxic zilpaterol, also imported from Australia.
Lin Jieliang, director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, noted that zilpaterol is 15 times more toxic than ractopamine. A batch of domestic goose meat tested positive for 5.6 ppb of zilpaterol in January last year. In February this year, the Department of Health also reported that a batch of Australian beef offal and a batch of Panamanian frozen beef skulls were rejected at customs due to zilpaterol contamination.
Lin Jieliang pointed out that zilpaterol was approved by the U.S. in 2007 for use in cattle feed. Last month, South Korea faced a scandal where U.S. beef was mislabeled as Australian beef for sale. He urged Taiwan to implement food traceability certification to prevent fraudulent practices by suppliers aiming to please consumers.
"New Zealand and Australian meat should not contain lean meat enhancers." With increasing cases of New Zealand and Australian beef testing positive for various lean meat enhancers, Zhou Jincheng, dean of the National Taiwan University College of Veterinary Medicine, angrily remarked, "Detections are happening everywhere, proving the so-called 'three checks and five controls' are useless. Who has stepped forward to apologize or take responsibility? This government has thick skin."
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS4/ 6958013. shtml#ixzz1p0YUF92l
New Zealand, Australia Beef Found with Zilpaterol, 15 Times More Toxic Than Ractopamine
2012.03.13 10:36 am
Even New Zealand and Australian beef, which are supposed to be free of ractopamine, have fallen short? The Department of Health announced yesterday that five samples of New Zealand and Australian beef were found to contain the lean meat enhancers ractopamine and zilpaterol. One sample, detected in Chiayi City, contained the more toxic zilpaterol, marking the first time this substance has been found in commercially sold beef.
The Chiayi City Health Bureau tested Australian hotpot beef slices from the PX Mart Xingye branch in Chiayi. Deputy Director Lu Hanyue stated that zilpaterol is also a type of lean meat enhancer, permitted only in the U.S. and Canada but prohibited in Australia. Excessive consumption can cause heart palpitations and nausea.
Pan Zhikuan, director of the Department of Health’s Regional Management Center, said the detected level of zilpaterol in the Australian beef was 0.8 ppb (parts per billion).
The supplier stated the meat came from Yugu Frozen Foods in Nantou and was intended for hotpot use. The Health Bureau conducted the test on the 6th, and the remaining two boxes were removed from shelves and returned to the company by noon that day. Zou Hesheng, factory manager of Yugu Foods, said 3,010 boxes of this batch were sold, with only 10 remaining in company inventory, all of which were supplied to PX Mart and have now been fully recalled.
The Department of Health also released results from tests conducted between January and March 11 on 219 meat products, with 36 samples testing positive for ractopamine. Among these, 32 were from the U.S., two from Australia, and two from New Zealand. Additionally, one sample contained the more toxic zilpaterol, also imported from Australia.
Lin Jieliang, director of the Clinical Toxicology Department at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, noted that zilpaterol is 15 times more toxic than ractopamine. A batch of domestic goose meat tested positive for 5.6 ppb of zilpaterol in January last year. In February this year, the Department of Health also reported that a batch of Australian beef offal and a batch of Panamanian frozen beef skulls were rejected at customs due to zilpaterol contamination.
Lin Jieliang pointed out that zilpaterol was approved by the U.S. in 2007 for use in cattle feed. Last month, South Korea faced a scandal where U.S. beef was mislabeled as Australian beef for sale. He urged Taiwan to implement food traceability certification to prevent fraudulent practices by suppliers aiming to please consumers.
"New Zealand and Australian meat should not contain lean meat enhancers." With increasing cases of New Zealand and Australian beef testing positive for various lean meat enhancers, Zhou Jincheng, dean of the National Taiwan University College of Veterinary Medicine, angrily remarked, "Detections are happening everywhere, proving the so-called 'three checks and five controls' are useless. Who has stepped forward to apologize or take responsibility? This government has thick skin."
Source: http://udn. com/ NEWS/ NATIONAL/ NATS4/ 6958013. shtml#ixzz1p0YUF92l