-
By Lee I-chia / Staff reporter
Lawmakers throughout occasion traces yesterday urged the Ministry of Agriculture to research a suspected case of cat meals inflicting hypokalemia, whereas the Taipei Animal Protection Office mentioned it had collected samples from the producer for testing.
A cat proprietor on Friday final week posted on a Facebook group that their 4 pet cats have been recognized as having hypokalemia — a lower-than-normal degree of potassium within the blood — and one had died.
As that they had been consuming an area model of cat meals for a very long time, the meals was suspected to be the trigger, the proprietor mentioned.
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Taipei Times
Other individuals responded to the submit, saying that their cats who had eaten the identical meals had additionally had hypokalemia.
The workplace mentioned in an announcement on Monday that the ministry notified it of the case, and it contacted the cat proprietor to realize an understanding of the scenario.
It despatched inspectors to the cat meals firm on Monday to gather samples from the identical batch the cat proprietor had bought, the workplace mentioned.
The samples have been delivered to a ministry-approved laboratory, and checks can be carried out for salmonella, enteropathogenic Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, sodium nitrite, aflatoxin, arsenic, cadmium, mercury, lead and propylene glycol, amongst others, it mentioned.
Under the Animal Protection Act (動物保護法), the corporate may very well be fined NT$50,000 to NT$250,000 if the meals incorporates pathogenic microorganisms or hazardous substances, the workplace mentioned.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislators Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶), Su Chiao-hui (蘇巧慧), Chen Pei-yu (陳培瑜), Lin Yueh-chin (林月琴) and Huang Jie (黃捷) yesterday held a information convention calling on the ministry to research.
Su mentioned the ministry ought to supervise the native animal safety workplace in clarifying the suspected case, and instantly take away the product from cabinets if wanted.
Laws must be revised to guard pets, equally to how meals security legal guidelines shield people, she mentioned.
A survey discovered that about 30 % of households in Taiwan have pets, and because the Pet Management Division on the ministry’s Department of Animal Welfare was established final 12 months and the general public has turn out to be extra conscious of animal safety, the ministry ought to guarantee a pleasant atmosphere for pets, Chen mentioned.
The ministry must also set up a communication platform with veterinary associations in order that data will be exchanged extra promptly, whereas house owners must be inspired to take their pets to see a vet after they behave abnormally or develop signs, Lin mentioned.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Ting-wei (羅廷瑋) and occasion employees additionally held a information convention, saying that that they had noticed about 50 house owners reporting on social media that their cats had signs of hypokalemia.
It is unclear whether or not the hypokalemia was attributable to the cat meals, however the ministry ought to arrange a reporting mechanism for suspected pet meals issues of safety, Lo mentioned, including that associated companies are urged to research the case as quickly as doable.
Department of Animal Welfare deputy head Chen Chung-hsing (陳中興) mentioned the Pet Management Division conducts random testing of pet meals, and if an issue is discovered, the division would notify the native animal safety workplace to ship inspectors to go to the producer and gather samples for additional testing.
The division acquired a report concerning the case on Saturday final week, and the Taipei workplace carried out an inspection on Monday, he mentioned.
When reporting such circumstances, pet house owners ought to present the native animal safety workplace with the pet meals model, product batch quantity and the time or date their pet grew to become unwell, he added.
Comments will likely be moderated. Keep feedback related to the article. Remarks containing abusive and obscene language, private assaults of any sort or promotion will likely be eliminated and the consumer banned. Final resolution will likely be on the discretion of the Taipei Times.
