Taipei, Oct. 6 (CNA) The Council of Agriculture (COA) on Tuesday unveiled the winning logo design for Taiwan pork products, which it said will clearly distinguish them from imported pork, as the country prepares to open its market to American pork early next year.
The logo shows a gold pig on a green background that incorporates a map outline of Taiwan, and it bears the words "Taiwan Pork" in Chinese and English.
The logo design, selected from more than 2,700 entries submitted in a competition run by the COA's National Animal Industry Foundation (NAIF), has earned a prize of NT$100,000 (US$3,450), the COA said.
At a press conference, NAIF CEO Wang Chung-shu said there are approximately 120,000 registered restaurants and retailers in Taiwan and he estimated that some 10,000 of those restaurants and retailers will apply for use of the logo in November in the first stage of the Taiwan pork branding initiative.
When the logo is placed on product labels, it will clearly indicate that they do not contain imported pork, Agriculture Minister Chen Chi-chung said.
Businesses caught using the logo without approval will be fined NT$40,000-NT$4 million, the COA said.
The branding initiative is being launched ahead of the opening of the Taiwan market next January to U.S. pork containing residues of the livestock drug ractopamine.
In August, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) announced that Taiwan would ease its regulations on ractopamine residues in American beef and pork imports, in an apparent effort to clear the way for a trade deal with the U.S.
Some critics of the decision have argued, however, that it does not prioritize the health of the Taiwan people or the interests of local pig farmers, despite the government's reassurances.
