On July 17, 2017, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced the drafts for Import Regulations for Dutch Beef and Beef Products, Import Regulations for Swedish Beef and Beef Products, and the Import Regulations for Japanese Beef and Beef Products (FDA document number 1061301743). This announcement specifically addresses the future import of beef and beef products from the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan, and outlines the conditions for future import. The FDA requires that beef products be from healthy cattle under a certain age, that high-risk parts of the animals be eliminated during the butchering process, that the processing factories be qualified and monitored by on-site veterinary officers, and that every product come with its own certification document signed by a veterinary officer.

The applications of Dutch, Swedish, and Japanese beef imports all had to first undergo documentation review, risk assessment, site inspection, and examination by Bovine spongiform encephalopathy experts in accordance with standard procedures before they were submitted for cross-department examination and approval for subsequent planning. After some discussion, the cross-department council for this case [including the Office of Food Safety (Executive Yuan), Ministry of Economic Affairs, Council of Agriculture (Executive Yuan), and Ministry of Health and Welfare] has decided to make a public announcement in order to solicit opinions from different sectors.

Currently, 94% of the beef in Taiwan is imported, with the import trade open to the following countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Paraguay. The FDA emphasized once again that as long as the cattle are healthy, the beef and beef products will be safe. Beef imports from the Netherlands, Sweden, and Japan must meet the same conditions as those from the United States and Canada. Healthy cattle must be monitored and inspected following strict standards in the country of export. Once imported, the place of origin must be clearly labeled. For information on the risk assessment for beef products from these three countries, please go to the “beef imports” section of the FDA website (http://www.fda.gov.tw).