Importers Cry Politics Over Tough Taiwan Food Inspection

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Importers Cry Politics Over Tough Taiwan Food Inspection
By REUTERS
Published: October 1, 2007
Filed at 5:36 a.m. ET


TAIPEI (Reuters) - A row that began a year ago when Taiwan rejected Chinese crabs containing a banned substance has spread to other imports from pork to wheat, raising the ire of trading partners who accuse the country of protectionism.

Taiwan says that concerns for the public health are behind tougher inspection standards, which trace their roots back to last fall when crabs from China were found to contain traces of the banned antibiotic nitrofuran.

The new policy has already threatened the wheat imports - upon which it relies to meet its milling needs, cutting market access for U.S. producers who are the island's largest foreign suppliers.

The media have reported over the last week new cases, including discovery of traces of banned substances in U.S. strawberries and Canadian pig kidneys.

Critics say the sudden strict enforcement of a zero-tolerance policy may be motivated in part by local farmers looking to protect their livelihood.

"Pork farmers, who in recent years have suffered from low prices and soaring costs of feed, take their argument to the parliament, which pressures the government to act, said Roy Lee, assistant executive director WTO center at the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research.


Rest of the food wars article at: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/washington/politics-taiwan-inspections.html