A shipment of instant noodles from Vietnam and another from Japan were seized at the border after they were found to contain residue of a banned pesticide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said in a statement on Tuesday.
A 1,458kg shipment of Acecook Hao Hao sour shrimp flavor instant noodles imported from Vietnam by Taiwan’s Qian Yu Food Enterprise Co was confiscated after 0.382mg/kg of ethylene oxide was detected in the product’s vegetable seasoning sachets, the FDA said.
In addition, a 37.92kg shipment of Sunaoshi cup instant ramen from Japan, imported by Taiwan’s Excel Right Trading Co, was also confiscated and destroyed after 0.209mg/kg of ethylene oxide was detected, it said.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
Ethylene oxide, a widely used industrial product, is banned in foods in Taiwan as it is classified as a first-class carcinogen.
Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer, and cause central nervous or peripheral neuropathy, according to the FDA.
The shipments were among 13 imported food and food container items that failed recent safety tests at the border, the agency said in its weekly report on substandard food imports.
Such items are either returned to the country of origin or destroyed, it said.
Over the past six months, six shipments of instant noodles with meat imported from Vietnam failed customs inspection, FDA data showed.
Since Aug. 29, the FDA has stepped up inspections of imported instant noodles with meat from Vietnam and have conducted batch-by-batch checks of shipments brought in by Qian Yu because its imports have failed inspections three times in six months, FDA Northern Center head Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕) said.
With five shipments of instant noodles imported from Japan also failing inspections over the past six months, the FDA starting from Aug. 8 increased the percentage of such imports checked from 2 to 10 percent to about 20 to 50 percent, Chen said.
A NT$39 receipt for two bottles of tea at a FamilyMart was among the NT$10 million (US $312,969) special prize winners in the January-February uniform invoice lottery. FamilyMart said that two NT$10 million-winning receipts were issued at its stores, as well as two NT$2 million grand prizes and three NT$200,000 first prizes. The two NT$10 million receipts were issued at stores in Pingtung County and Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山). One winner spent just NT$39 on two bottles of tea, while another spent NT$80 on water, tea and coffee, the company said. Meanwhile, 7-Eleven reported three NT$10 million winners — in New Taipei
Considering that most countries issue more than five denominations of banknotes, the central bank has decided to redesign all five denominations, the bank said as it prepares for the first major overhaul of the banknotes in more than 24 years. Central bank Governor Yang Chin-lung (楊金龍) is expected to report to the Legislative Yuan today on the bank’s operations and the redesign’s progress. The bank in a report sent to the legislature ahead of today’s meeting said it had commissioned a survey on the public’s preferences. Survey results showed that NT$100 and NT$1,000 banknotes are the most commonly used, while NT$200 and NT$2,000
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday reported the first case of a new COVID-19 subvariant — BA.3.2 — in a 10-year-old Singaporean girl who had a fever upon arrival in Taiwan and tested positive for the disease. The girl left Taiwan on March 20 and the case did not have a direct impact on the local community, it said. The WHO added the BA.3.2 strain to its list of Variants Under Monitoring in December last year, but this was the first imported case of the COVID-19 variant in Taiwan, CDC Deputy Director-General Lin Ming-cheng (林明誠) said. The girl arrived in Taiwan on
ANNUAL EVENT: Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in Daan Park, with an event zone operating from 10am to 6pm This year’s Taipei Floral Picnic is to be held at Daan Park today and tomorrow, featuring an exclusive Pokemon Go event, a themed food market, a coffee rave picnic area and stage performances, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said yesterday. Two massive Pokemon balloons are to be set up in the park as attractions, with an exclusive event zone operating from 10am to 6pm, it said. Participants who complete designated tasks on-site would have a chance to receive limited-edition souvenirs, it added. People could also try the newly launched game Pokemon Pokopia in the trial area, the department said. Three PokeStops are
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