Customs officials have blocked the entry of a shipment of lion’s mane mushrooms from China due to excessive levels of pesticides — the ninth such seizure in six months, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Tuesday.
The lion’s mane mushrooms were one of 16 products stopped at the border after they were found to contain excessive amounts of pesticides or heavy metals, it said.
All of the tainted products had either been returned or destroyed before they could reach consumers, it added.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
The FDA has asked Chinese authorities to provide an explanation for the high levels of pesticides in the lion’s mane mushrooms by Aug. 3, said Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕), head of the agency’s Northern Center for Regional Administration.
A failure to comply would result in a ban on imports of the mushroom type from China, Chen added.
Meanwhile, a 417kg shipment of camellia oil was also seized for containing excessive levels of the carcinogen benzopyrene.
Other products to be returned or destroyed included 2,670kg of lilies from China due to high levels of cadmium, as well as poplar mushrooms, Cordyceps militaris, frozen spinach and daikon radish due to excessive amounts of pesticide residue.
Customs officials also seized instant noodles from the Indonesian brand Mie Sedaap and the Philippine brand Lucky Me after they were found to contain excessive or banned chemicals.
Given that a shipment from Mie Sadaap last month was found to contain excessive amounts of pesticide residue, the FDA said it would step up inspection of the company’s instant noodle imports from 5 to 10 percent to 20 to 50 percent.
The instant noodles from Lucky Me contained the prohibited fungicide ethylene oxide, the FDA said, adding that as this was a second offense, all instant noodles from the company would be checked from now on.
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