Regulation of imported beef and beef products from Japan 
(draft) 
(TRANSLATION) 
(In the case of any divergence in the translation, the Chinese text shall prevail.) 
 
1. Requirements for Beef 
i. Only beef derived from cattle born and raised in Japan; or from 
cattle born in a country deemed e ligible by Taiwan to export beef 
and raised in Japan for at least 100 days prior to slaughter in 
Japan will be considered elig ible to export to Taiwan. 
ii. Only beef derived from cattle less than 30 months of age ( Bos 
taurus  and Bos indicus ). 
iii. Only beef from meat establis hments registered, maintained 
monitoring and auditing program by Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW) in Japan. Japan will provide a list of such 
meat establishments to Taiwan’s authorities for examination and 
approval in advance of  the export. Taiwan will be informed of 
any amendment of such a list of meat establishments before the 
export of amended meat establ ishment by the MHLW, through 
the Japan–Taiwan Exchange Association  or another institution 
that represents Japan. 
iv. The beef will be derived from cattle that were slaughtered in 
accordance with the applicable Japan legislation, and have 
passed ante-mortem and post-mortem inspection under the 
supervision of the veterinarian . The following items should be  
confirmed by veterinarian : 
(i) The age of cattle at  the time of sla ughter, birthplace and 
place of raising; 
(ii) The beef will be de rived from cattle that were not subjected 
to a stunning process, prior to slaughter, with a device 
injecting compressed air or gas in to the cranial cavity, or to a 
pithing process; 
(iii) The beef does not contain special risk materials (SRMs), any 
mechanically recovered me at (MRM), mechanically 
separated meat (MSM), or advanced meat recovery (AMR) 
derived from cattle skull and ve rtebral column, or any tissue 
or parts derived from cattle 30 months of age and over at the 
time of slaughter. 
v. Beef shall meet the related ra diation control regulations and 
measures on food safety.  
2. “Special risk materials(SRMs)” means: 
i. The distal ileum of the small inte stine and the tonsils from cattle 
of all ages, and 
ii. 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. 
iii. The parts that are defined as SRMs according to Japan 
regulations.  
3. Shipments of beef will be accomp anied by certificates issued by the 
MHLW, which must include the following information: 
i. Birthplace and country of raisi ng of the cattle from which the 
beef is derived; 
ii. Name of the product (including species), number of packages 
and weight (net weight) listed by each final processing plant; 
iii. Names, addresses, and est ablishment numbers of the 
slaughterhouse, meat processing  plant, or storage facility; 
iv. Slaughtering period and/ or processing period 
(dd/mm/yy-dd/mm/yy); 
v. Name and addresses of the co nsignor and the consignee; 
vi. Date, place of issue, and author ity by which the export certificate 
was issued, and the name and signatu re of the veterinary officer; 
and 
vii. Container number and seal number; 
viii. States “the beef is derived from cattle that  were less than 30 
months of age” 
ix. States “the beef is derived from cattle that  were slaughtered in 
establishments certified by the MH LW as eligible to export beef 
to Taiwan and that passed ante-mortem and post-mortem 
inspection under the supervision of a MHLW veterinarian”. 
4. In the event that an additional case of BSE occurs  in Japan, the 
MHLW will immediat ely inform the Taipei Economic and Cultural 
Representative Office in Japan  or the Japan–Taiwan Exchange 
Association  of the case and provide the re sults of an investigation and 
all information about the enhanc ement of food safety monitoring  
measures for BAPHIQ and TFDA. If the additional case of BSE 
results in the OIE recognizing an a dverse change in the classification 
of the BSE status of Japan, Taiwan  could suspend importation of beef 
from Japan and conduct on-site audits  before receiving the results of 
the case investigation from Japan.  
5. Taiwan, in according to relevant regulations, could take necessary 
measures and requirements to restrict imports, including: 
i. In the event of serious non-compliance by the meat 
establishment in  Japan, the MHLW or another institution 
representing Japan will immediately notify Taiwan and control 
the serious non-compliance produc t for export to Taiwan. If 
Japan does not immediately notify Taiwan or control the serious 
non-compliance product for export to Taiwan, Taiwan could 
suspend the importation of beef and beef products from the meat 
establishment before the MHLW determines that appropriate 
corrective and preventative m easures regarding the products 
have been taken and provides information to Taiwan.  
ii. Taiwan could conduct on-site in spection of meat establishments 
that export products to Taiwan. When a serious non-compliance 
has been found as a result of the on-site inspection, Taiwan could 
suspend the importation of beef and beef products from the meat 
establishment before the MHLW is  informed of the findings, and 
determines that appropriate corrective and preventative of 
products measures have been ta ken and provides information to 
Taiwan 
iii. In order to ensure import product that are in compliance with  
regulations, the inspector at the port of entry may seek 
clarification through the importer for corrected and/or suppliant 
documents.