Taiwan’s customs officials have issued a fine of NT$200,000 ($9,369) to a traveller for attempting to bring a lunch box containing pork into the country.
The Indonesian national had arrived from Hong Kong on April 30 when a quarantine dog sniffed out the “roast chicken and pork combo”, said the Taiwanese Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency.
The traveller was reportedly unable to pay the fine and deported.
Taiwan introduced fines of NT$200,000 for bringing pork products to the island from countries affected by African swine fever (ASF) following an outbreak in China in 2018.
Fines increase to NT$1 million for subsequent breaches of quarantine.
What temperature do you have to cook pork to to destroy flu virus? USDA says 145⁰F, but that’s more general for bacteria and parasites.
Cooked pork seems very low risk. Taiwan’s policy does not appear grounded in science.
What if it was only cooked to 130 or 140? Are they supposed to ask and trust everyone what temperature their lunch was cooked to?
Poor traveler thought they’d heat it up for them on arrival.
The article states that the virus is very resistant to many environmental changes and can “survive” for a long time on clothes, boots, and even some pork products. This is probably one of many issues involved during an outbreak.
Almost no countries allow meat products due to potential exposure that couldn’t be easily seen. Sometimes for commercially prepared meats there are exceptions but these are in relatively few countries. For countries with substantial livestock keeping diseases out is critical to their economy and therefore treated with such a high level of urgency.