A batch of rice bran oil imported from Japan and a batch of vegetable fat imported from the United Arab Emirates are to be returned or destroyed after they were found to contain excessive glycidyl fatty acid esters (GEs), which are potentially carcinogenic to humans, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The FDA’s latest border inspection results for 12 food-related items imported from six different countries, found that 8,294kg of rice bran oil imported from Japan contained 1,688 micrograms per kilogram (mcg/kg) of GEs, exceeding the limit of 1,000mcg/kg.
GEs, one of the main contaminants in processed oils, are classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as a group 2A agent, which is “probably carcinogenic to humans.”
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
A 40kg batch of vegetable fat imported from the United Arab Emirates contained 2,634mcg/kg of GEs.
The products have not entered the domestic market and would be returned or destroyed, while the inspection rate of products from the two importers would be increased from 2 to 10 percent to 20 to 50 percent, FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said.
Also included in the list were two batches, totaling 3,943kg, of fresh cherries imported from the US, which contained residues of a fungicide called mefentrifluconazole, which is banned on cherries in Taiwan.
FDA data show that 1,240 batches of fresh cherries imported from the US were reported for border inspections between Jan. 1 and Monday last week, with five batches failing inspections due to mefentrifluconazole residues.
The increased inspections of US cherries would continue until Sept. 30, the agency said.
A batch of barley leaf powder imported from China was found with the pesticide chlorantraniliprole and the fungicide dimethomorph, with residue levels exceeding the maximum limits.
A batch of lidded ceramic bowls imported from Japan was found to contain heavy metal lead at a concentration level of 175 parts per million (ppm), much higher than the 5ppm maximum.
Other items that have recently failed border inspections include Sichuan peppercorns from China, green tea bags from India, fresh lemons from the US, and fresh durians and frozen cut mixed vegetables from Vietnam, which were all found to contain excessive pesticide residues, as well as a food container from China that failed a dissolution test, FDA data showed.
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