Taiwan has introduced revised import protocols for U.S. processing potatoes, maintaining strict food safety and phytosanitary controls while allowing certain shipments previously subject to outright rejection to enter under tighter processing supervision, according to Taipei Times.

The newspaper reported that Taiwan’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency (APHIA) said imported potatoes intended for processing will remain subject to the same food safety standards as domestic potatoes, including mandatory removal and destruction of any tubers showing sprouting, rot or mold before entering production.

According to Taipei Times, the regulatory changes follow concerns raised in the Office of the United States Trade Representative’s 2026 National Trade Estimate Report, which said Taiwan had rejected entire U.S. potato shipments containing sprouted potatoes since 2018. Revised rules adopted in February now reportedly permit affected shipments to enter Taiwan provided compromised potatoes are sorted out and destroyed at designated processing facilities.

Taipei Times reported that APHIA said the updated protocol preserves existing bans on potatoes carrying any of eight designated pests or diseases, while also requiring U.S. exporters to strengthen sprout inhibitor applications and ensure shipments are free of soil contamination.

For food safety, Taipei Times said APHIA stated that imported potatoes must meet Taiwan’s domestic solanine threshold of no more than 200 parts per million. The newspaper also reported that any processing potato shipment showing sprouting, rot or mold at entry would be reported to food safety authorities and routed directly to approved processing plants operating under standard disposal procedures.

According to the report, once at processing facilities, potatoes with sprouts exceeding 0.5cm, or showing rot or mold, must be removed from the production stream and destroyed.

Taipei Times said Taiwan’s government described the new framework as a dual-layer control mechanism combining border inspections with mandatory plant-level sorting, designed to safeguard agricultural biosecurity and public food safety.

The report also said the move establishes a distinct quarantine framework for imported processing potatoes, separating them from the stricter rules previously applied uniformly to all imported table stock potatoes. According to Taipei Times, Taiwan said the revised model was developed following consultations with the U.S. and was based on scientific principles similar to protocols used in Japan.

The policy has prompted domestic political scrutiny, with opposition lawmakers questioning enforcement capacity and food safety oversight, while Taiwan’s government has defended the changes by emphasizing pre-export sprout prevention, mandatory disposal of non-compliant potatoes and downstream random inspections.

For potato exporters and processors, the revised framework could mark a notable regulatory shift, potentially easing blanket shipment rejection while increasing compliance obligations around quality control, sprouting management and food safety procedures.