3 Taiwanese Fined NT$200,000 by Bringing Pork Mooncakes from China|查獲3起國人攜中國月餅含豬肉 重罰20萬

As Mid Autumn's Festival approaches, Taipei Customs have caught 3 cases of Taiwanese passengers attempting to carry mooncakes from China that contained pork to Taiwan. Each case is subject to a fine of NT$ 200,000. Furthermore, the Coast Guard Administration also discovered pig carcass along the coast of Tainan. Samples have been collected for testing to see whether the pig was infected with African swine fever.


These mooncakes nestled in the basket are made in China and contained pork. As Mid Autumn's Festival approaches, many nationals carry mooncakes made in China without really being sure of their contents. Taipei Customs said that on September 1st, they caught nationals returning from China carrying 14kg, 0.75kg and 2.04 kg of pork-containing mooncake respectively without reporting, three cases in a row.

A lot of the mooncakes were carried in checked-in baggage. We want to remind the public that checked-in baggage are 100 percent checked by customs.

Our colleagues from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection will open the mooncakes' packaging and cut the cakes apart to see what it contains and check for meat constituents. If the product is from countries that had African Swine Fever for the past three years, such as China, the first offense will be fined NT$ 200,000, while the second offense will be fined NT$1,000,000.

Taipei Customs transferred these three cases to the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection Quarantine, whereby they received a fine of NT$200,000 each. It is common for travelers to bring mooncakes into Taiwan, and the Bureau reminds the public that China and Hong Kong are all African swine fever affected areas. If mooncakes are bought there, it is best to read the packaging labels or inquire the sellers on whether the mooncakes contained pork, otherwise, one may face a fine of up to NT$ 1 million.

Moreover, on September 2nd, floating corpses of dead pigs were found along the coastal areas of Tainan for the first time. The corpses were rotten when discovered on the sandy beaches. To prevent a spread of potential diseases carried by these corpses, police lines were pulled up around the parameter.

Tainan City Animal Health Inspection and Protection Office rushed to the site in full protective gear straight away after receiving the report. After samples were taken, the corpses were incinerated and buried on site. The samples were sent to the Animal Health Research Institute of the Council of Agriculture for diagnosis. As for where the corpses came from, investigation are still under way.



籃子裡裝著一顆又一顆來自中國、內餡都含有豬肉的月餅，中秋節快到了，許多國人可能不太清楚月餅成分，攜帶中國製造的月餅入境。台北關表示，1號晚間接連查獲3起民眾從中國返台，以託運方式，分別攜帶14公斤、0.75公斤及2.04公斤的豬肉內餡月餅，卻通通沒申報。

台北關稽核 李家恒表示：「很多月餅都放在託運行李裡面，我們也要一併提醒民眾，就是託運行李的話，一定會百分之百經過海關查驗。」

防檢局動物檢疫組副組長 高黃霖表示：「我們檢疫同仁一定會把月餅拆開來，然後用刀把它切開，看看裡面它月餅的內容物內餡，是不是確實含有肉品，如果是來自過去三年，發生非洲豬瘟的國家，例如中國大陸這樣的話，第一次會被裁罰20萬元，第二次會被裁罰100萬元。」

台北關查獲後移送防檢局各別重罰20萬元，許多旅客會從國外帶月餅入境，防檢局再三提醒，中國、香港都是非洲豬瘟疫區，民眾在那購買月餅，記得辨別包裝或詢問店家是否含有豬肉，否則一旦被查獲最重開罰100萬元。

另外，台南沿海2號晚間首度發現疑似漂流死豬，豬隻外觀已經明顯腐爛倒在沙灘上，擔心病原滋生或擴散，現場隨即拉起封鎖線。

台南動保處接獲通報，火速前往處理，防疫人員全副武裝，解剖採樣後，就地將其焚燒掩埋，並把死豬檢體送往家畜衛生試驗所檢驗，至於豬屍從何而來，相關單位還要再釐清，防範非洲豬瘟疫情,政府不敢大意，陸海空全面防堵。