A sample of Chinese pork sausages discarded by tourists at Kaohsiung International Airport was again found to have been contaminated with the African swine fever virus, the Council of Agriculture announced on Friday.

The incident marks the third time Taiwan has intercepted pork meat products carrying the virus following cases reported on Oct 31 and Nov 13.

South Korea, Japan, and Thailand have reported similar cases over the past months, with sausages and other pork products imported by Chinese travelers testing positive for the virus.

A recently passed law will see huge fines for bringing uninspected meat products into Taiwan.

Since August, inspections have been ramped up at immigration checkpoints targeting visitors arriving from China to keep undeclared pork products from entering the country.

Taiwan news