The first batch of blueberries commercially grown in Taiwan went on sale on Monday at convenience store chain 7-Eleven in a venture seeking to break the nation’s dependence on imports of the highly nutritious fruit.
Chiayi County Agricultural Department official Lee Chiu-ying (李秋瑩) said that the blueberries were grown in the county’s Fanlu Township (番路).
The Taiwan Blueberry Team was founded in 2016 and collaborated with Li Kuo-tan (李國譚), a professor in National Taiwan University’s Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture, to adapt techniques learned from the UK and the US, Lee said.
Photo: CNA
The team overcame weather and environmental limitations to successfully cultivate domestic blueberries at the foot of one of Taiwan’s most famous peaks, he said.
Chiayi Agricultural Department head Hsu Chang-min (許彰敏) said that most people associate agriculture in the Alishan (阿里山) area with tea and coffee.
He was happy that the Taiwan Blueberry Team set up at the foot of Alishan and introduced the berry to Taiwan’s agricultural scene, Hsu said.
Aside from 7-Eleven stores, people can also purchase domestically grown blueberries from the Taiwan Blueberry Web site, www.taiwanblueberry.com.
In other news, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday said that about 123 tonnes of Chilean cherries were denied entry into Taiwan after food safety tests showed they had pesticide residue in excess of its standards.
Nine shipments from Chile were found to have residue of cyantraniliprole, a broad-spectrum insecticide, after batch-by-batch inspections at the border, said Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕), an official with the FDA’s Northern Center for Regional Administration.
Taiwan only allows cyantraniliprole within its standards in melons, cruciferous vegetables, tea leaves, apples and pears, the FDA said, adding that it is not allowed in imported cherries.
Since Jan. 11, all cherries imported from the South American nation have been subject to border testing after fruit shipments were found to be failing safety checks with increased frequency, Chen said.
Also named among 35 substandard food products on the latest list of refused food shipments published by the FDA yesterday were kumquats from Japan, frozen pork from Spain, mola mola intestines from Singapore and a shipment of Indonesian instant noodles.
All of the shipments that were flagged were either destroyed or returned to their country of origin, the FDA said.
Alain Robert, known as the "French Spider-Man," praised Alex Honnold as exceptionally well-prepared after the US climber completed a free solo ascent of Taipei 101 yesterday. Robert said Honnold's ascent of the 508m-tall skyscraper in just more than one-and-a-half hours without using safety ropes or equipment was a remarkable achievement. "This is my life," he said in an interview conducted in French, adding that he liked the feeling of being "on the edge of danger." The 63-year-old Frenchman climbed Taipei 101 using ropes in December 2004, taking about four hours to reach the top. On a one-to-10 scale of difficulty, Robert said Taipei 101
Nipah virus infection is to be officially listed as a category 5 notifiable infectious disease in Taiwan in March, while clinical treatment guidelines are being formulated, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. With Nipah infections being reported in other countries and considering its relatively high fatality rate, the centers on Jan. 16 announced that it would be listed as a notifiable infectious disease to bolster the nation’s systematic early warning system and increase public awareness, the CDC said. Bangladesh reported four fatal cases last year in separate districts, with three linked to raw date palm sap consumption, CDC Epidemic Intelligence
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
US climber Alex Honnold left Taiwan this morning a day after completing a free-solo ascent of Taipei 101, a feat that drew cheers from onlookers and gained widespread international attention. Honnold yesterday scaled the 101-story skyscraper without a rope or safety harness. The climb — the highest urban free-solo ascent ever attempted — took just more than 90 minutes and was streamed live on Netflix. It was covered by major international news outlets including CNN, the New York Times, the Guardian and the Wall Street Journal. As Honnold prepared to leave Taiwan today, he attracted a crowd when he and his wife, Sanni,
RSS