Taiwan Finds More U.S. Beef with Banned Feed Additive Zilpaterol

Oct 29, 2013

By Amanda Brodhagen, Farms.com

On Tuesday, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration said it found U.S. beef with traces of the banned feed additive, Zilpaterol. The tainted beef was found at a restaurant owned by Wowprime Corp. All 203 kg of beef in question has been destroyed. This marks the third case in less than a month.

Earlier this month, South Korea officials halted some U.S. beef imports after detecting the feed additive in the beef at one of JBS USA’s units. Around the same time, Taiwan also found some beef tainted with the same drug. The most recent case of tainted beef was traced back to Swift Beef Company in Cactus, Texas. The U.S. Department of Agriculture said that due to recent events, the Texas plant is no longer eligible to ship beef to South Korea.

Zilpaterol is banned in much of Asia and Europe due to concerns about the potential side effects of the drug, which acts as a growth enhancer to add more muscle to the animals before slaughter. Merck & Co., the drug maker of Zilpaterol stopped selling the additive Aug. 16 over health concerns of animals showing signs of having trouble walking. Authorities said they will be increasing their inspections of U.S. beef imports.

Video: How to Capture the $80 Million Ground Pork Opportunity | 2026 Retail Trends

Meat is having a moment, and ground pork is perfectly positioned to help you capture new category growth.

In this business intelligence deep-dive, National Pork Board experts Bailey Morrell and Rick Smith break down the latest consumer behaviors, retail trends, and an $80 million incremental retail opportunity in ground pork.

Watch to learn how expanding your ground pork offerings, utilizing proper fat-lean ratio labeling, and building a dedicated "grinds set" can attract Gen Z and Millennial shoppers while driving "center of the plate" profitability.

we cover:

• Insights from the 2026 Power of Meat presentation.

• Why ground pork is the "gateway meat" for younger, high-value shoppers.

• How adding just two new ground pork SKUs can drive incremental sales.

• Actionable merchandising strategies, including the right fat-lean ratios for specific recipes.