The Council of Agriculture’s Agriculture and Food Agency (AFA) on Thursday rejected a Hong Kong survey that said two Taiwanese rice products contained heavy metal residues higher than recommended by international baby food standards.
The Hong Kong Organic Resource Center on Tuesday released a survey of heavy metal residues in 45 rice samples, of which 26 were found to contain high levels of inorganic arsenic.
Two of the four sampled Taiwanese organic rice products were shown to contain high levels of inorganic arsenic — 0.13 milligram per kilogram (mg/kg) and 0.14mg/kg respectively — exceeding the level allowed in rice used for making baby food, the center said in its news release, adding that 0.1mg/kg is the level set by the EU.
Excessive exposure to inorganic arsenic could damage the central nervous system, impede the intellectual development of children and even increase the risk of developing cancers, it said.
In response, the AFA said in a statement on Thursday that the rice products were within the levels allowed by the EU and the UN’s Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Taiwan Agriculture Research Institute associate researcher Lin Yu-wen (林毓雯) yesterday added that while the maximum level of inorganic arsenic that the EU allows in rice used for baby food is 0.1mg/kg, the EU allows 0.2mg/kg in polished rice and 0.25mg/kg in husked rice.
While the nation has yet to approve an allowed level for rice used in baby food, the Food and Drug Administration has published draft regulations on the allowed levels of pollutants and toxic substances in food, AFA official Lee Hsieh-chang (李協昌) said, adding that the regulations are to be implemented later this year.
The draft allows a maximum level of 0.35mg/kg in husked rice, 0.2mg/kg in polished rice and 0.1mg/kg in rice used for making baby food.
The agency regularly tests between 500 and 600 rice samples per year, and re-examines polluted fields, AFA Deputy Director-General Juang Lao-dar (莊老達) said, adding that the agency finds it unnecessary to test all rice products because the failure ratio is generally much lower than one per thousand.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Travel agencies in Taiwan are working to secure alternative flights for travelers bound for New Zealand for the Lunar New Year holiday, as Air New Zealand workers are set to strike next week. The airline said that it has confirmed that the planned industrial action by its international wide-body cabin crew would go ahead on Thursday and Friday next week. While the Auckland-based carrier pledged to take reasonable measures to mitigate the impact of the workers’ strike, an Air New Zealand flight arriving at Taipei from Auckland on Thursday and another flight departing from Taipei for Auckland on Saturday would have to
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS