"Premier" Wu Den-yih defended Wednesday a government decision to withhold approval for imports of controversial US beef tongues, saying that no changes had been made to the administration's beef policy and that experts will be invited again to provide a clear definition of exactly which items constitute beef internal organs.

Praising the Department of Health's (DOH's) strategy for handling the controversy surrounding certain US beef offal items, Wu explained that the decision to hold back import approval and invite experts to provide an unambiguous definition was made to ensure public safety and calm public doubts.

The DOH, the "Ministry of Economic Affairs" and the Council of Agriculture announced at a joint press conference the previous day that imported US beef tongues, testicles and diaphragms will all undergo the most strict inspection upon arrival in Taiwan.

Checks will be performed "case-by-case" rather than "batch-by-batch", the government said a few days earlier.

Meanwhile, "Bureau of Foreign Trade" (BOFT) Director-General Huang Chih-peng suggested that traders refrain from importing the controversial beef cuts until the public's doubts have been allayed.

The changes, however, drew criticism from Hsien Tien-jen, chairman of the non-profit Consumers Foundation, who denounced the government for not prohibiting imports of high-risk beef products on the one hand and for advising importers not to import the products on the other.

The government's measures "contradict each other," he complained. Eventually, whole cows, regardless of how old they are, will be allowed to enter Taiwan's markets, he predicted.

Taiwan agreed in a protocol with Washington last October 22 to lift a ban on US bone-in beef and certain other beef products from cattle younger than 30 months. Amid public concerns over the import of high-risk beef products, the Legislative Yuan passed a measure in January that barred imports of US beef products classified as "internal organs."

Wu pointed out that the DOH had invited experts last May 18 to define what "internal organs" are in terms of US beef cuts. At that time, tongues, diaphragms and testicles were not included in the category, he said, noting that it was this definition that allowed the BOFT to begin April 1 to accept applications for imports of these beef cuts.

However, since consumers and scholars began to question the safety of beef tongues for consumption and to query why the item is not categorized as an internal organ, the government believes it is necessary to gather experts for a review of the definition, Wu said.

The government announced Monday that six types of offal on the US Trade Representative list - tongues, penises, testicles, tails, tendons and diaphragms - are not classified as internal organs and that imports of those beef products will be permitted.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 04/22/2010 page4)