Greenpeace Taiwan yesterday said that a pesticide residue test on vegetables sold at major retail outlets showed that 73 percent of the samples tested contained pesticide residue and 20 percent exhibited excessive pesticide levels.
The organization collected 60 vegetable and fruit products from brick-and-mortar and digital outlets of major supermarket and convenience store chains, including RT-Mart, Pxmart, Carrefour, Wellcome, A. Mart, Costco, 7-Eleven and FamilyMart, and 44 products tested positive for pesticide residues, 12 of which contained excessive residues and five contained forbidden pesticides.
Prohibited chemicals were found in oranges from A. Mart; oilseed rape, lettuce and jujubes from Carrefour; as well as passion fruit from A. Mart, the group said.
Green beans from Costco contained a fungicide residue 69 times higher than the legal limit, which stood out as the most serious violation among products with excessive residue levels, including oranges, green peppers, lettuce and passion fruits from A. Mart, spoon cabbages and arden lettuce from Carrefour, lemons from Pxmart, as well as grapes, lemons and Chinese cabbages from RT-Mart.
Only products collected from 7-Eleven and FamilyMart outlets showed no excessive residue, the organization said.
The test was a follow-up of a similar test conducted in October last year, which analyzed 69 products from eight retailers and found excessive residues in six products and prohibited pesticide in one product, it said.
“Consumers shopping for hot pot ingredients ahead of the Lunar New Year should avoid leaf vegetables, beans and peppers, which are prone to contain higher amount of pesticides,” Greenpeace project manager Lo Ko-jung (羅可容) said.
Singling out Costco as the worst performing retailer in terms of transparency and food safety policy, Lo said: “The solution to pesticide residue in food relies on retailers proposing specific measures to ban pesticide-containing products, but Costco ignores the consumer’s right to know because it has refused to disclose its pesticide management policy.”
Lo described Costco’s repeated claim that it followed both Taiwan’s and the US’ laws as an empty slogan, as the two countries differ largely in pesticide regulations, which would confuse the consumer and provide an excuse for the hypermarket chain to comply with standards it finds convenient.
Meanwhile, Carrefour has expanded its range of banned pesticides, from 40 percent to 70 percent of pesticides officially designated as highly toxic by the Council of Agriculture, she said.
Vegetables sold at 7-Eleven pose the least risk of pesticide exposure, as the retailer claims to sell only organic vegetables or crops produced during the transition period to organic production, she added.
Three batches of banana sauce imported from the Philippines were intercepted at the border after they were found to contain the banned industrial dye Orange G, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. From today through Sept. 2 next year, all seasoning sauces from the Philippines are to be subject to the FDA’s strictest border inspection, meaning 100 percent testing for illegal dyes before entry is allowed, it said in a statement. Orange G is an industrial coloring agent that is not permitted for food use in Taiwan or internationally, said Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for
LOOKING NORTH: The base would enhance the military’s awareness of activities in the Bashi Channel, which China Coast Guard ships have been frequenting, an expert said The Philippine Navy on Thursday last week inaugurated a forward operating base in the country’s northern most province of Batanes, which at 185km from Taiwan would be strategically important in a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait. The Philippine Daily Inquirer quoted Northern Luzon Command Commander Lieutenant General Fernyl Buca as saying that the base in Mahatao would bolster the country’s northern defenses and response capabilities. The base is also a response to the “irregular presence this month of armed” of China Coast Guard vessels frequenting the Bashi Channel in the Luzon Strait just south of Taiwan, the paper reported, citing a
UNDER PRESSURE: The report cited numerous events that have happened this year to show increased coercion from China, such as military drills and legal threats The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) aims to reinforce its “one China” principle and the idea that Taiwan belongs to the People’s Republic of China by hosting celebratory events this year for the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, the “retrocession” of Taiwan and the establishment of the UN, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said in its latest report to the Legislative Yuan. Taking advantage of the significant anniversaries, Chinese officials are attempting to assert China’s sovereignty over Taiwan through interviews with international news media and cross-strait exchange events, the report said. Beijing intends to reinforce its “one China” principle
A total lunar eclipse, an astronomical event often referred to as a “blood moon,” would be visible to sky watchers in Taiwan starting just before midnight on Sunday night, the Taipei Astronomical Museum said. The phenomenon is also called “blood moon” due to the reddish-orange hue it takes on as the Earth passes directly between the sun and the moon, completely blocking direct sunlight from reaching the lunar surface. The only light is refracted by the Earth’s atmosphere, and its red wavelengths are bent toward the moon, illuminating it in a dramatic crimson light. Describing the event as the most important astronomical phenomenon
RSS