Organic vegetable farmers yesterday demanded an apology from the Consumers' Foundation for a report that it released two years ago accusing the farmers of selling organic vegetables that contained traces of pesticide.
The court had ruled in favor of the farmers on the issue two weeks ago. However, the foundation has said that it plans to appeal the case.
Speaking at a press conference hosted by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wei Ming-ku (
Two years ago, the foundation accused three organic vegetable farms certified by the Taiwan Organic Production Association in Hsinchu of using pesticides on their vegetables, based on the results of tests conducted by the foundation.
One of the farmers, Chiu Chien-hsun (
His farm has lost more than NT$2 million over the past two years, as stores have stopped ordering vegetables from him and consumers have stayed away from the brand, Chiu said.
Another farmer, Lin Hsiao-chi (
Liu Ching-fang (
The farmers said the foundation waited more than three months to announce the results of their tests, thus giving it an excuse for not keeping the samples.
The commission has asked the agricultural council to provide help to consumer-rights groups on testing procedures in the future, Liu said.
Lee Hung-ping (
However, using this method alone is not enough and may lead to flawed conclusions, he said.
Lin and Chiu said that as "small-time farmers," lawyers were not willing to take on their case and help them sue the foundation, which is a well-known group.
"All we want is a sincere apology from the foundation and to regain the public's trust," Lin said.
The foundation did not attend the press conference, but said that the court had misjudged the case because prosecutors did not understand the facts.
The foundation also said that it had carefully followed official testing procedures when it tested the vegetables.
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