Two shipments of mushrooms, believed to be from China, were last week seized in Kinmen County, the Coast Guard Administration said yesterday.
The mushrooms, found in 60 boxes at Liaoluo Harbor (料羅碼頭) on Friday and Saturday, weighed 760kg in total, the coast guard said.
Samples have been taken for testing and if it is confirmed that the mushrooms were smuggled from China, charges will be brought against the importers, the Kinmen Coastal Patrol Unit said.
Photo courtesy of the Coast Guard Administration
Even after the Lunar New Year holiday, demand for mushrooms in Taiwan remains high and unscrupulous traders are trying to smuggle in substandard products from China, Captain Wu Chien-kuan (吳建冠) said.
Most smuggled products do not go through any quality control and could contain toxic substances such as lead, sulfur or arsenic, which can damage the respiratory system, liver and kidneys, Wu said.
The coast guard would not stop its anti-smuggling and law enforcement operations, he said, urging the public to call its toll-free hotline (118), to report any suspected unlawful activities.
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