The Council of Agriculture (COA) yesterday authorized Ssu Cheng Biotech Co to use its pesticide residue rapid screening technology, signing an exclusive contract with the company worth NT$12 million (US$400,000).
The deal gives the company the right to internationally market an enzyme derived by the technology at a time when food safety is of increasing concern.
The deal marks the first time agricultural technology has been transferred from the public to the private sector, COA Minister Chen Bao-ji (陳保基) said.
Highlighting the demand for pesticide screening, Taiwan Agricultural Research Institute director-general Chen Junne-jih (陳駿季) said the total revenue in the sector was US$2.07 billion last year.
The screening method, called the biochemical method, was introduced in 1985 and has been widely used by private and public screening facilities, including those set up by the institute and those that belong to well-known chain stores, he said.
Statistics provided by the institute show that the reagent is currently being used in the screening of pesticide residue in more than 200 types of produce at screening facilities across the nation, including rice, tea leaves, herbs, vegetables and fruits, with a total of 879,781 batches of samples scanned last year.
Drawing from its experience with the technique, the institute developed a reagent based on acetylcholinesterase (AchE) — a neurotransmitter derived from houseflies — capable of detecting organophosphorous and carbamate pesticides.
These two types of pesticide account for 43 percent of the nation’s total usage, Chen Junne-jih said.
Saying the method is more reliable than procedures that use enzymes derived from other animals, such as electric eels and horses, as well as faster and cheaper — costing about NT$8 per consignment of produce scanned — Chen Junne-jih said several Asian countries including China, South Korea and Malaysia have expressed an interest in procuring the reagent.
Since producing 1g of the reagent requires about 50,000 houseflies, the institute breeds about 10 million adult flies every year, from which approximately 200g of AChE are extracted, Chen Junne-jih said, adding that each gram of the substance is capable of screening roughly 15,000 batches of produce.
Lin Ching-feng (林清峰), president of Ssu Cheng Biotech, said that mass production of the reagent had begun last month. At this stage, the company is capable of manufacturing 10g of the product per month, he added.
Under the guidance of the institute, the company hopes to expand its production lines to meet demand from markets in China, India and Southeast Asia.
Citing China as an example, he said the company aims to win 10 percent of the Chinese market, which is made up of provincial food safety governing authorities and private firms, adding that the first batch of reagent is to be shipped within a few days.
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