The introduction of new pesticides would help farmers phase out old and more toxic ones, the Council of Agriculture (COA) said yesterday, while denying media reports that a proposal to raise the allowable levels of pesticide residue in crops would put people’s health at risk.
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on May 3 published a draft amendment to Article 3 of the Standards for Pesticide Residue Limits in Foods (農藥殘留容許量標準) proposing new maximum residue levels (MRLs) for nine pesticides used on 29 crops.
The pesticides are: amisulbrom, cyantraniliprole, cyenopyrafen, fenpyroximate, fluopyram, metconazole, methiocarb, spiromesifen and sulfoxaflor.
Rice, passion fruit and tea are among the crops that would be affected by the new standards.
The Chinese-language China Times yesterday reported that once the draft amendment is passed, at least five kinds of pesticides could be applied on passion fruit, raising concerns about food safety.
The proposed residue levels are supported by sound scientific evidence, FDA Food Safety Division Director Pan Jyh-quan (潘志寬) told a news conference held by the council yesterday afternoon.
The agency consulted COA officials, agriculture experts and nutritionists before preparing the draft, Pan said, adding that it is still collecting public opinions within the draft’s 60-day notification period.
The council is working to reduce pesticide use in the long term, COA Deputy Minister Chen Chi-chung (陳吉仲) said.
The MRL of cyenopyrafen in Taiwan is 20 parts per million (ppm) and that of cyantraniliprole is 1.5ppm, both stricter than Japan’s MRLs of 60ppm and 30ppm respectively, Chen said, adding that Japanese are known as heavy tea drinkers.
Some media outlets have reported that cyenopyrafen has been identified by the US Environmental Protection Agency as being similar to group-c pesticides that might cause cancer in animals.
Cyenopyrafen is not formally included in the US agency’s regulations, nor those of the International Agency for Research on Cancer, while evidence only shows that it might cause cancers in animals, with no data on its effects on humans, said Feng Hai-tung (馮海東), the director-general of COA Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine.
The council would allow five pesticides to be used on passion fruits because farmers have no other agents to protect the fruits, which are susceptible to more than 10 types of plant diseases and pests, Feng said.
Instead of applying all the pesticides at the same time, farmers are advised to apply them one by one to reduce drug resistance, he added.
Accusing the media outlets of spreading fake news, Chen reiterated the government’s determination to protect food safety, saying that he would step down if the new regulations were proven to put people’s health at risk.
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