Taiwan FDA clears TaiSugar pork of cimbuterol concerns

TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reported on Monday (Feb. 5) that no traces of the drug Cimbuterol were detected in TaiSugar’s frozen pork slice products.

Last week, the Taichung City Government announced it had found 0.002ppm of Cimbuterol, a substance typically used for lean meat production, in TaiSugar-manufactured pork cuts.

The Ministry of Agriculture refuted the claim, insisting both the hair of pigs at the farm where the pork originated and samples from the same batch of pork products tested negative for the presence of beta-agonists.

Wang Der-yuan, the FDA deputy director, reminded the public that Cimbuterol isn't designated for use in humans or animals, but is mainly used by laboratories as a standard sample.

Wang added that the FDA carried out examinations of three samples of TaiSugar's pork products a day earlier using the "Method of Test for Veterinary Drug Residues in Foods Test of Multiresidue Analysis of β-Agonists," a protocol announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Results of the FDA analysis, according to Wang, likewise showed no traces of Cimbuterol.