In response to the Ministry of Agriculture’s recent confirmation of an African Swine Fever (ASF) case in Taichung City, the Tainan City Government immediately activated its epidemic response mechanism. Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che convened a cross-agency meeting, instructing relevant units to carry out “fast response, thorough disinfection, and regional cooperation” actions to effectively prevent the spread of the disease and ensure the safety of pork products on the citizens’ tables.
According to the Mayor, Tainan City currently has five lines of defense in place to block the disease from entering the city. These initiatives include banning the use of kitchen scraps as pig feed, prohibiting the movement of pigs out of farms as per central government policies, proactively distributing disinfectant to assist pig farmers in sanitizing their facilities, spending NT 10 million from the Secondary Reserve Fund to support the industries, and strengthening community-level disease prevention awareness.
At the same time, Huang stressed that African Swine Fever affects only pigs and cannot be transmitted to humans. Pork remains a safe and nutritious ingredient when purchased from a legal source and cooked thoroughly. The city government will continue to monitor market supply and disease developments to protect food safety, safeguard public health, stabilize market demand, and support the sustainable development of Taiwan’s pig farming industry.
The Tainan City Government also reminded the public to purchase pork products bearing the Traceable Agricultural Products (TAP), Certified Agricultural Standards (CAS), or slaughterhouse sanitation inspection certification mark to ensure the product comes from legal and safe sources. If you come across possible smuggled pork products or products of unknown origin, please report the case immediately to relevant authorities. Do not purchase or eat such products to prevent further spread of the disease.