A random inspection by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) earlier this month found 10 of 36 oatmeal products tested contained pesticide residues exceeding legal levels, including Quaker Oats products, the agency said yesterday.
The 10 were found to have glyphosate (pesticide) residue levels between 0.1 parts per million (ppm) and 1.8ppm, it said.
They were “Old Fashioned Quaker Oats” and “Quaker Quick 1-minute Oats” sold at Carrefour Taiwan (家樂福), Costco Wholesale Corp and RT-Mart (大潤發), “Coach’s Oats” sold at RT-Mart, “Bob’s Red Mill Instant Rolled Oats” sold at Pacific Sogo Department Stores Co (太平洋崇光百貨), “Fifty50 Hearty Cut Oatmeal” and “McCann’s Imported Irish Oatmeal” sold at City’super, “Australia Fine Oat Flakes” by Fuyuan Food (富元食品) sold at Wellcome Supermarket (頂好超市) outlets and oatmeal (大燕麥片) by Fengyuan Food (逢元食品).
Photo: Wu Liang-i, Taipei Times
“Among the items that failed the inspection, such as the products from Quaker Oats, several were products imported from other countries,” FDA Northern Center for Regional Administration official Wang Te-yuan (王德原) said.
The FDA said glyphosate is an herbicide often used in other countries, but because Taiwan does not produce oats, in the absence of a set maximum residue limits, zero tolerance applies to glyphosate residue in oatmeal products.
For the inspections, the detection limit was set at 0.1ppm.
The agency said that studies have suggested that animals can tolerate considerable exposure to glyphosate, and that it does not harm their nervous systems, but high exposure in rats has caused slight weight loss, enlargement of the liver and kidney inflammation.
Glyphosate can be eliminated from the human body in urine and feces, it added.
The WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer has listed the substance in its list of Group 2A carcinogens — which means it is probably carcinogenic to humans.
As of 10am yesterday, a total of 62,339kg of the products that failed the inspection have been removed from shelves or recalled, Wang said.
The pulled items could have been sold in more than just the stores mentioned above.
The companies involved could face fines ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$200 million (US$1,842 to US$6.14 million), Wang said.
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the