Taipei - The first shipment of Canadian beef has returned to Taiwan after Taipei lifted the ban imposed following the outbreak of mad-cow disease in Canada, a newspaper reported Sunday. The first shipment, 271.5 kilograms of beef, arrived Saturday in Taiwan. It is deboned beef from Canadian calves butchered under 30 months old, with dangerous parts like brain and intestines removed, the Shin Taiwan Shin Sheng Daily News reported.
Taiwan was previously the fifth-largest export market for Canadian beef, with annual imports worth 20 million Canadian dollars (17.78 million US dollars).
Taiwan banned the import of Canadian beef after a case of mad-cow disease in May 2003, but lifted the ban on June 23 after Canada had improved beef quarantine and packaging measures.
