Taiwan – Export requirements for meat and poultry products

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1. Eligible/ineligible products

Eligible products

  • Raw pork products and processed pork products are eligible for export to Taiwan.
  • Bovine meat products:
    Definitions
    • "Cattle" means domesticated bovine animals (Bos taurus and Bos indicus).
    • "Specified risk materials (SRMs)"means:
      • The distal ileum and the tonsils from cattle of all ages, and
      • The brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebrae of the tail, the transverse processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum), and dorsal root ganglia from cattle 30 months of age and older
    • "Beef for export" includes all beef and edible beef products (bone-in and deboned), which are produced out of cattle of any age at the time of slaughter and specified in Taiwan's Import Regulation Code 113 (including tongue, skirt, lips, ears, penis, testes, tail, back strap,abdominal tunic). For export of bone-in or boneless beef derived from cattle aged 30 months and over (OTM), the date of slaughter must be June 15, 2023 or after. However, "beef for export" excludes certain products (see ineligible products section below).

Ineligible products

  • Meat and meat products derived from cervids (elk and/or deer) born or raised in Saskatchewan are not eligible for export to Taiwan.
  • Bovine meat products:
    • distal ileum and tonsils from cattle of all ages
    • internal organs (for example, heart, lungs, liver, large intestines, spleen, stomach, kidneys, pancreas, bladder and uterus) derived from cattle of all ages
    • ground beef
    • brain, skull, eyes, trigeminal ganglia, spinal cord, vertebral column (excluding the vertebra of the tail, the transverse processes of the thoracic and lumbar vertebrae, and the wings of the sacrum), the dorsal root ganglia from cattle 30 months of age or older
    • no mechanically recovered meat (MRM)/mechanically separated meat (MSM), advanced meat recovery (AMR) products derived from cattle skull and vertebral column from cattle aged 30 months or older at the time of slaughter are allowed to be exported to Taiwan

2. Pre-export approvals by competent authority of importing country

  • All establishments under federal inspection are considered as being eligible to export meat products to Taiwan.

3. Products specifications, production controls and inspection requirements

  • Pork offal prepared as edible in accordance with Food-specific requirements and guidance – Meat products and food animals is allowed to be imported into Taiwan. Operators interested in exporting other types of offal (for example not produced in accordance with Food-specific requirements and guidance – Meat products and food animals) must develop a method of preparation and submit it to the inspector in charge and the Area office for approval.
  • Bovine meat products:
    • Requirements/restrictions
      • Only beef derived from cattle that are not suspect or confirmed BSE cases, or confirmed cohorts of BSE cases will be considered eligible for export.
      • Meat establishments that produce beef will maintain a program for the hygienic removal of SRMs;
      • For the purpose of SRMs removal, the age of cattle at the time of slaughter is verified by documentation, which identifies the age, or by dentition;
      • The beef will be derived from cattle that were slaughtered in meat establishments registered in accordance with the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations, and have passed ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection conducted by CFIA inspection personnel under the supervision of the resident CFIA veterinarian;
      • The beef will be derived from cattle that were not subjected to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device injecting compressed air or gas into the cranial cavity, or to a pithing process;
      • The beef will be processed in a manner as to prevent contamination from SRMs in accordance with CFIA regulations.
    • Requirements applicable to establishments
      • Meat establishment that is registered in accordance with the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations is eligible to produce beef for exportation to Taiwan.
      • The CFIA will maintain a regular monitoring and auditing program for meat establishments registered in accordance to the Safe Food for Canadians Act and Regulations, and will verify that they comply with the import requirements of Taiwan. In the event of a serious non-compliance, CFIA will immediately control the serious non-compliant product in the meat establishment. If the process that resulted in the serious non-compliant product is ongoing, CFIA will immediately withhold certification of additional product for export to Taiwan until it determines that appropriate corrective and preventative measures have been taken. Only when CFIA determines that corrective actions are adequate will CFIA resume certification of product for export to Taiwan.
      • The Taiwanese government can conduct on-site inspections and investigate the original records on the establishment for export to Taiwan, and can take measures including suspension of the export of the establishment if serious non-compliance with requirements listed in this section is found. CFIA will immediately withhold certification of additional product for export to Taiwan until it determines that appropriate corrective and preventative measures have been taken. The Canadian government will inform the Taiwanese government of the completion of the corrective actions for the non-compliance of the relevant establishment and based on this information, the Taiwanese government will lift the suspension of exportation.

4. Labelling, marking and packaging requirements

  • The container must be sealed with an official seal. The seal number and the container number must appear on the export certificate.

5. Documentation requirements

All meat products:

  • Each shipment will be certified using Certificate of Inspection Covering Meat Products (Form CFIA/ACIA 1454).
  • The additional certification section of form CFIA/ACIA 1454 must list the following information:
    • Storage condition (Chilled, frozen or ambient)
    • If meat or meat products originating from a third country are used, state the names, addresses and registration numbers of the establishment from the third country.
    • Commercially Sterile Meat Products: The following statement must appear in the additional certification section of the CFIA/ACIA 1454:
      "Commercially sterilized meat products were prepared with sterilization value (Fo) of not less than 3".
  • The product description section of the CFIA/ACIA 1454 must have "packaging date" at the end of product description. Taiwan will accept a date range. The statement "same as processing date" is also acceptable when applicable.
  • Exporter and consignee Section of the CFIA/ACIA 1454 must include name as well as address of the exporter and importer, respectively.
  • Slaughter establishment section: The name and address of the slaughter establishment must appear on the CFIA/ACIA 1454. "Various eligible establishments" is not considered acceptable.
  • Once original certification has been issued by the official veterinarian, a photocopy of the CFIA/ACIA 1454 and applicable Annexes must be made and be certified as a true copy of the original certificate by adding the words "Certified as a true copy", an original official seal and the signature of the official veterinarian who has issued the original certification.

Beef:

  • In addition to form CFIA/ACIA 1454, Annex B – "Veterinary Certificate for Beef and Beef Products derived from Cattle of all ages to Taiwan" must be issued.
  • Also, the Certificate of Authenticity for High Quality Bovine Meat should be issued, when applicable (Annex A – "Certificate of Authenticity").
    Note: United States can export beef directly to Taiwan with no restrictions.

Cervid meat:

  • In the case of export of meat and meat products derived from cervids, the statement "The products described above were not derived from animals born or raised in Saskatchewan, neither from the animals with any clinical sign of Chronic Wasting Disease before slaughter. The products are safe for human consumption." must appear in the box "Additional certification / Attestation supplémentaire".

Poultry meat:

  • In addition to form CFIA/ACIA 1454, Annex C – "Veterinary Certificate for Poultry Meat destined to Taiwan" must be issued.
  • The import requirements for samples and full load of product are the same. Therefore, the same certificates (CFIA/ACIA 1454 and Annex C – "Veterinary Certificate for Poultry Meat destined to Taiwan") can be used.
  • Interim Certification – In the event of an outbreak of Avian Influenza in Canada, Annex C-1 "Interim Certification – Additional Information in case of an Outbreak of Avian Influenza in Canada" must be issued on CFIA letter head along with Annex C – "Veterinary Certificate for Poultry Meat destined to Taiwan".

6. Other information

  • Import licenses are required. Import licences are not required for the import of foie gras and poultry meat.
  • Only licensed Taiwanese importers are allowed to import offal. Tongue, testes and skirts will be subjected to extensive import inspection procedures.
  • There is no objection to export edible kidneys with a section of urinary tract attached. The importer is responsible to obtain the required import permit for that type of product. A statement to the effect that the product is being prepared for export should appear on the box and appropriate controls must be in place to ensure that the product is exported to Taiwan.
  • Taiwan (Department of Health (DOH) and the Bureau of Standards and Metrology (BSMI)) has specific labelling requirements (for example, Chinese label for products directly sold to consumers [3 kg or less] expiry/packaging date). The importer is responsible to take the necessary measures to ensure that the product is labelled according to applicable requirements.
  • Shipments in transit via Hong Kong are not permitted.
  • Beef and beef products:
    In the event that non-compliance with applicable import health requirements is found during the quarantine inspection of beef for export conducted by the Taiwanese government, the Taiwanese government can take the following measures:
    • If a serious non-compliance in a lot is detected during the port of entry inspection process in Taiwan, the lot will be rejected.
    • If an SRM is found, CFIA will conduct an investigation to determine the cause of the problem. Product produced by the pertinent meat establishment will then be subject to increased rates of import inspection in Taiwan. Only after 5 lots totaling 3 times or greater quantity of the same product from the same meat establishment are inspected without finding a food-safety hazard, will the standard inspection procedures and rates apply.
    • If two incidents of a serious non-compliance involving separate lots from the same meat establishment are detected in Taiwan during a 6-month period, the export certification of beef to Taiwan from that establishment concerned will be withheld by CFIA. Beef from the meat establishment that was produced prior to the date of the incident will continue to be eligible for import inspection. Export certification of product to Taiwan will not re-commence until CFIA confirmed that the corrective and preventative actions have been successfully implemented and inform Taiwanese government accordingly. Taiwanese authorities may include an on-site audit of the establishment during its next system audit of establishments.
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