18/07/2007
Taiwan has banned sales of tons of frozen pork imported from the United States after residues of a feed additive banned locally were found.
Two shipments of US pork totaling some 24 tons were detained by the customs department in the southern city of Kaohsiung after they tested positive for clenbuterol, a feed additive designed to make animals leaner and more muscular, said a health official.
'We have ordered (the importers) to return the pork to the US,' said Cheng Huei-wen, director of the Department of Health's Bureau of Food Sanitation.
Cheng said the feed additive, approved in the US, Canada and some Asian countries but banned in the European Union, could cause palpitations only if taken in excessive amounts.
