All imported goods sent from Vietnam to Taiwan by air cargo will be examined manually by customs officers as part of ongoing efforts to prevent the spread of the African swine fever (ASF) virus in Taiwan, the Customs Administration said Tuesday.
The new policy which will see all air freight from Vietnam manually checked at points of entry in addition to X-Ray screening was announced after reports that meat products smuggled from Vietnam by air were found to have ASF.
For shipments coming from other countries or regions, however, customs inspections will remain the same, according to the agency.
All goods at customs clearance will be examined by X-Ray scanners, while some will be randomly selected for manual checks, the agency said.
In addition, logistics companies that organize shipments from Vietnam to Taiwan will no longer be able to bulk clear consignments of goods -- a practice that expedites the clearance process, the agency said.
The agency will also apply the measure to logistics providers with multiple violations, regardless of the origin of the shipments they manage, it added.
Meanwhile, a total of 19 meat products suspected of having been smuggled from Vietnam had been seized as of Monday evening after the police searched nearly 1,300 locations across the county, the National Police Agency (NPA) said in a statement Tuesday.
The seized items include moon cakes, pork sausage, jerky, and meat floss, among others, and all of them will be tested for the ASF virus, the NPA said.
The operation was part of a nationwide crackdown on meat products suspected of being infected with ASF after 71 kilograms of meat products was seized in New Taipei last week, with the samples later being found to contain the virus, the NPA said.
Taiwan has remained on high alert against ASF out of concern that the virus could cripple its high-value pig farming industry, and imports of pork products from countries where there has been an ASF outbreak are banned, including Vietnam.
ASF is a deadly disease that threatens pig populations, as it cannot be cured and there is no vaccine against it, but it is not harmful to humans.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel