A 921.6kg batch of instant noodles from Vietnam containing a banned agricultural chemical was stopped at the border, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced yesterday.
The batch of “Hot Seafood Flavor Noodle” made by Cong ty Co phan Acebook Viet Nam, was found to contain 0.1mg of ethylene oxide per kilogram in its seasoning packets and would be returned to Vietnam or destroyed, the FDA said.
Ethylene oxide is banned in Taiwan, FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said.
Photo courtesy of FDA
Citing FDA data, Lin said that it was first batch of instant noodles to be intercepted from Vietnam this year, but the seventh found to contain the banned chemical, with the other shipments coming from South Korea and Indonesia.
The Vietnamese noodles were just one of the 10 intercepted imports announced by the FDA. Spinach from Australia, hulled sesame seeds from Thailand and organic pepper powder from India also failed to make the cut.
Meanwhile, two batches of fresh cherries imported from the US on Aug. 14 were found to contain the fungicide mefentrifluconazole.
The two shipments from Gebbers Farms were the 34th and 35th batches of US cherries stopped at the border this year, as of yesterday, Lin said.
One of the two batches, weighing 15,306kg, was found to contain 0.01 parts per million of the chemical, while the other, weighing 17,418kg, was found to contain 0.03 parts per million.
All of the cherries rejected from the US came from four companies and were stopped from entering Taiwan because they contained fungicides that are banned in the country, Lin said.
The US on Friday last week promised to urge its farmers and export companies to ensure shipments adhere to Taiwan’s standards, Lin said.
The FDA asked the US to come up with an improvement proposal on July 21 and again on Aug. 10.
The agency said it would not import fresh cherries from the four companies from Aug. 21 to Sept. 20 to allow time for investigations, adding that it would also conduct random checks on half of the cherries imported by other US companies.
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