A shipment of 972kg of camelia oil imported from China has been found to contain excessive residual traces of benzo[a]pyrene, a known carcinogen, the Food and Drug Administration said yesterday.
The shipment would be returned or destroyed, the agency said.
Benzo[a]pyrene is a Group 1 carcinogen. Additive oils, flavoring powder, oil packs in instant noodles and frying oils are scanned for the substance, the agency said, citing the International Agency for Research on Cancer.
Photo copied by Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
You Jun Co (友俊) imported the camelia oil, which was found to contain benzo[a]pyrene at a concentration of 2.88 micrograms per kilogram, exceeding Taiwan’s 0.8 micrograms per kilogram limit, it said.
Separately, dried lion’s mane mushrooms, frozen Japanese goose barnacles and frozen grapes imported from China have been found to contain excessive residual pesticides, it said.
Calls for Chinese authorities to present the requisite paperwork have gone unanswered, the agency said, adding that if the paperwork is not received by Aug. 3, Taiwan would stop importing the products.
The agency said several shipments of instant noodles from Indonesia, the Philippines and Japan were also blocked by customs after they were found to contain excessive pesticide residues.
Among the shipments were 4,047.4kg of Mie Sedaap cup noodles from Indonesia and 327.6kg of Lucky Me cup noodles from the Philippines, both imported by Taiwan’s Elom Group Co, the agency said.
CONTROLS TO TIGHTEN
In light of the large amount of contaminated instant noodle shipments from Indonesia, the agency said customs officials would increase the percentage of such imports checked from between 5 and 10 percent to about 20 percent.
Customs also rejected 56.96kg of Acecook cup noodles from Japan, imported by Zhong Xin International Development Co, the agency said, adding that all the substandard products were returned or destroyed.
Other substandard food items rejected by customs included Queen Victoria tea bags from Australia, it said.
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