The ractopamine dispute is front page news in Taiwan. The country's newly sworn in cabinet will discuss the contentious dispute at its first meeting later this week and President Ma has already publicly discussed the issue, according to local media reports.
"We have always maintained the same position as U.S. officials -- that Taiwanese have concerns about U.S. beef imports and the use of ractopamine," said Ma, at a recent press conference.
The opposition party has been especially outspoken against lifting the ban on ractopamine.
"No meat products, whether beef, lamb, pork or chicken, should be allowed into Taiwan if it contains leanness enhancers," said one lawmaker, according to
Focus Taiwan.
Taiwan, which is the sixth largest export market for beef and pork, began testing U.S. beef for ractopamine in January 2011 and within days found trace levels of the drug. U.S. food safety officials said the levels found ranged from 2.4 to 4.07 parts per billion (ppb), which falls below both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration standard, of 30 ppb, and the proposed international standard of 10 ppb, but Taiwanese officials pulled the meat from the shelves of grocery stores, including Costco, citing consumer concerns.
In early June, Taiwan rejected nearly 100 tons of frozen U.S. beef after it tested positive for ractopamine at 1.5 ppb. Ten days later, Burger King Taiwan temporarily suspended sales of products containing bacon after the Taiwan Department of Health found U.S.-imported pork products to contain ractopamine and seized the pork before hitting grocery store shelves. Public health officials said they found 3 ppb in fully cooked bacon products. Burger King declined to comment on the matter.
The issue has strained the U.S.-Taiwan trade relationship. Taiwan's policy on ractopamine is often cited as a primary reason the two countries have tabled bilateral Trade and Investment Framework Agreement talks. U.S. officials maintain that Taiwan's policy is not science-based.
With renewed pressure from Washington to lift the ban, consumers and farmers are threatening protest, according to Focus Taiwan.
Ractopamine, a drug made by Elanco, a division of Eli Lilly, was first approved by the FDA for pork production 1999, it has since been approved in 25 other countries. The drug has sparked long-running trade conflicts beyond the U.S.-Taiwan hangup.
A recent
msnbc.com report, produced by the Food and Environment Reporting Network, described the deadlock between China, the European Union and the United States at the Codex Alimentarius Commission, which sets global food safety standards.
"The EU and China, which together produce and consume about 70 percent of the world's pork, have blocked the repeated efforts of U.S. trade officials to get a residue limit European scientists sharply questioned the science backing the drug's safety, and Chinese officials were concerned about higher residues in organ meats, which are consumed in China."
High level controversy at Codex is rare. Though the commission adopts dozens of standards each year by consensus, Codex has been stalled on a residue standard for ractopamine since 2008.
"U.S. trade officials say China wants to limit competition from U.S. companies, and the EU does not want to risk a public outcry by importing meat raised with growth-promoting drugs, which are illegal there," added the report.
"Setting a Codex standard for ractopamine would strengthen Washington's ability to challenge other countries' meat import bans at the World Trade Organization."
While ractopamine use remains controversial abroad, there is little awareness in the United States, even though there have been issues with the drug.
"Although few Americans outside of the livestock industry have ever heard of ractopamine, the feed additive is controversial. Fed to an estimated 60 to 80 percent of pigs in the United States, it has sickened or killed more of them than any other livestock drug on the market, an investigation of Food and Drug Administration records shows."
The full
Food and Environment Reporting Network story, which was also been
picked up by Taiwan media, can be found
here.
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You know what they say....three's a trend! Charlize Theron, Busy Phillips, and Michelle Williams all donned headbands in their gorgeous strands at this year's Golden Globes. The good news? It's easy to take this look from the red carpet to the realway.
Headbands can be worn many different ways, and instantly add a touch of glamour and fun to any hairstyle. Ideas on how to wear headbands are only limited to your creativity and imagination! There are feminine, pearl accented and jewel encrusted headbands. Simple, plain and sweet headbands. You can even get a boho vibe by wearing a band accented with feathers, or wrapping a retro print scarf around your crown. The possibilities are endless.
Tasha Solid Rows of Crystal Headband, $58
Pretty As It Looks Headband, $10.50
One of the great things about hair accessories is that they can usually be found quite cheaply. Your local drugstore, the mall (check out places like Claire's and Hot Topic,) discount department stores, thirft stores, vintage shops, and the Internet are all great resources. Another great place to "shop"? Your mother's or grandmother's dresser! They probably have some chic, retro headscarves stashed away, and bonus...they're free!
Related:
Feather Hair Extensions: Fashion Do or Don't?
Mossimo Supply Co. Pink Headscarf, $9.99
If you're crafty, you can even make your own, unique hair piece. Take a simple headband, a hot glue gun, a bag of crystals or rhinestones (which can easily be found at any craft store), and embellish away! You can go for an all over encrusted look, or experiment with different designs. Another idea, which is perfect for little girls, is to take a simple headband and add a large silk flower.
If your hair is naturally wavy, curly, or voluminous, a headband can really amp things up. The contrast between slick hair in front and a full mane in back is very stunning. If you want to channel your inner Gossip Girl, wear your hair smooth and straight, and use a whimsical headband to to keep your locks out of your face.
L.Erickson Double Loop Bow Headband, $24
You can even wear headbands with a ponytail, updo or half-updo. They are the perfect way to anchor down a poof. Have fun, experiment, and see what works best for you!
More from GalTime:
Sexy Valentine Hairstyle Ideas
Hair Accessories that Will Turn Heads
Winter Hair HELP
Secrets to Having the Perfect Ponytail
Anastasia is a salon hair stylist in Oklahoma City. Her web site is
www.StyleByAnastasia.com or find Style By Anastasia on Facebook. Out of town appointments are welcome.
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jay-z and beyonce, russell and katy… cocoa butter and foundation? makeup artists reveal the hot new couples: product duos that prove two is better than one.—
elle"when i mix a touch of
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romy soleimani. the concoction is a highlighter perfect for tapping on cheekbones, brow bones and lids. soleimani prefers this over conventional illuminators. "the cream creates a sheer texture, and it's not makeupy," she says.
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for a just-bitten lip shade that's universally flattering, makeup artist hilda levierge pairs
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"Food Fraud is a much broader set of crimes than just counterfeiting or adulteration," says John Spink, the associate director of Michigan State University's Anti-Counterfeiting and Product Protection Program. "The term Economically Motivated Adulteration has been used by [the U.S. Food and Drug Administration], and although there has been a lot of activity using this term in the food industry, it actually involves all FDA regulated products."
Spink and Douglas Moyer, both faculty at Michigan State University, published a paper in the Journal of Food Science in November specifically aimed at defining the public health risks of food fraud, hoping to provide a base reference for the issue and help shift the current focus on intervention to one of prevention.
"The food-related public health risks are often more risky than traditional food safety threats because the contaminants are unconventional," write Spink and Moyer. "Current intervention systems are not designed to look for a near infinite number of potential contaminants."
As it stands now, food fraud crackdowns often focus on the economic impact of cheating the system, not public health, and are reactive, not preventative.
In late November, European Union's Europol teamed up with Interpol to conduct a week-long, multi-country food fraud operation. Agents seized hundreds of tons of fake and substandard food and drink--including champagne, cheese, olive, oil, and tea--from Bulgaria, Denmark, France, Hungary, Italy, The Netherlands, Romania, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Known as "Operation Opson," the effort, which took six-months to plan, ultimately turned up a lot of fraudulent food.
The team seized 13,000 bottles of substandard olive oil, 30 tons of fake tomato sauce, around 77,000 kg of counterfeit cheese, more than 12,000 bottles of substandard wine worth 300,000 EUR (or nearly $400,000), five tons of substandard fish and seafood, and nearly 30,000 counterfeit candy bars. Authorities also said the sale of fake or substandard caviar on the internet was under investigation.
Interestingly, when Interpol-Europol announced the results, they specifically cited public health as a key reason to crack down on fraudulent food practices.
"Consumers buying these goods, either knowingly or unknowingly, are putting their health at risk as the counterfeit food and drink are not subject to any manufacturing quality controls and are transported or stored without proper regard to hygiene standards," authorities said about the operation.
Interpol-Europo said Operation Opson, which means "food" in ancient Greek, had three critical goals:
- Raise awareness of the dangers posed by counterfeit and substandard foods;
- Establish partnerships with the private sector to provide a cohesive response to this type of crime;
- Protect consumers by seizing and destroying substandard foods and identifying the criminals behind these networks.
"One of the main goals of this operation was to protect the public from potentially dangerous fake and substandard food and drinks, which is a threat that most people are not even aware of," said Simone Di Meo, Criminal Intelligence Officer with Interpol's Intellectual Property Rights programme and coordinator for Operation Opson.
Explicitly linking fraudulent or substandard food to public health risk is something Spink and his team at Michigan State University would like to see happen here in the United States more often.
"I find it amazing, and refreshing, that Interpol-Europol have focused this Operation Opson on a underappreciated product risk. Most times, consumers and even lawmakers, consider product counterfeiting to be a technical problem with economic losses. While they may understand the risks of pharmaceutical drug counterfeiting, they are often unaware of the food risks," said Spink. "Any and every type of food fraud has a public health vulnerability - we may not have experienced an actual public health incident, but the bad guys are not following good manufacturing practices."
Photo courtesy of Europol.
we're big fans of the bold. Problem is, most dramatic lip hues are also high-maintenance, requiring tons of touch-ups to keep the color looking vibrant. Long-wearing lipsticks promise to keep their color for hours on end, but we've been burned before by empty pout promises, so we challenged three staffers to put their money where their mouths are and test out the latest stay-put lippies. They tried out an all-natural tint, a drugstore stain, and a high-end lip color for five hours to see how each held up to coffee breaks, office pizza parties, accidental napkin wipings, and multiple meetings. Read on for their lip diaries and to find out which new long-wear reigns supreme.
Who: Julia Anderson, senior brand integration manager
The Contender: Clark's Botanicals Ultra Rich Lip Tint
This all-natural lip tint is free of scary chemicals, but does the trade-off for all that natural goodness mean a lip color that slips off after a few hours?
10:28 a.m.: "I like the idea of color in a squeezable gloss form. Anything that resembles Vaseline Lip Therapy I can totally get behind. Cons? It took caking about four layers of goop on for the color to even begin to pop. Right out of the gate, I'm a little hesitant about its staying power."
12:35 p.m.: "I considered sushi a smart lunch option in my noble effort to preserve my pucker's stain. But with all the chewing and soda sipping I'm guessing a lot of the shine has worn off — the red gloss on my Diet Coke can is a pretty sure sign."
1:54 p.m.: "My work station in the R29 office has a subtle draft that makes makes me a little sniffly. I go to blow my nose and see some lipstick smudges on the tissue. Argh!"
2:30 p.m.: "Lots of calls and meetings mean stress-induced pursed lips. I catch a glance of my pout in my iPhone and notice that most of the ruby color and glossy sheen has faded."
Result: "My lipstick stayed in place for probably an hour or two before heading seriously south. I might grab this if I needed a touch of color and shine for a quick snapshot, but not for long-lasting pigment."
Clark's Botanical Ultra Rich Lip Tint in Rachel Red, $19, available at
Clark's Botanicals.
Photos: By Erin Yamagata, Courtesy of Clark's Botanicals
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