1. No cimbuterol found in samples from contaminated pork batch: MOA

Tests on the samples from the same batch of Taiwan Sugar Corp. (Taisugar) pork products previously found to contain cimbuterol returned no traces of the banned leanness-enhancing additive, the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) announced on February 4^th. During a joint press conference held by the Executive Yuan's Food Safety Office, Chiou Chwei-jang, the director-general of the Ministry of Agriculture's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA), said that 45 samples were tested, none of which contained cimbuterol.

2. Microbe detection technique encouraged for use with dairy products

The government-run Taiwan Livestock Research Institute (TLRI) on encouraged domestic dairy producers to use a locally developed microbe detection technique to improve their quality control and maintain competitiveness. In a statement released by the Ministry of Agriculture's research institute, TLRI Director General Huang Jeng-fang was cited as saying that once a dairy product sample is received, the technique can test for 15 types of microbes within two and a half hours.Huang noted that the import of liquid dairy products from New Zealand will receive zero-tariff treatment starting Jan. 1, 2025. Therefore "it is of great urgency" to enhance the safety and quality of domestic dairy products, he said.