Shipments of condiments imported from the US and Indonesia were recently intercepted at the border because they contained a banned pesticide and excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said today.
The agency publishes a weekly list of items intercepted at the border in recent weeks.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
Today's list had 30 imported items, including 122kg of Tabasco Habanero Sauce from the US.
The shipment was intercepted because it contained the carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide, which is banned in Taiwan.
FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said that over the past six months, 23 shipments of condiments from the US have been found to violate relevant Taiwanese regulations.
US officials have responded to Taiwan's complaints, and Taiwan would keep watch on related items until the end of this month, he said.
If violations persist, all importers that have brought in subpar condiments would be prohibited from importing products into Taiwan, Lin added.
The shipment from Indonesia of 1,117.56kg of "ABC, Sambal Bawang Pedas" sauce was found to have 0.101g/kg of sulfur dioxide, exceeding the legal limit of 0.03g/kg, the FDA said.
This was the first offense by the importer, Index Mulia Co, within the past six months, and its imports would be subject to increased inspection, Lin said.
Other intercepted items described in the latest report by the FDA include a shipment of lunch boxes imported by Step Star Co, Ltd, and five shipments of chopping boards imported by Star Smile International Co, all of which were imported from China and failed dissolution tests, the FDA said.
Lin said products imported by the two companies would continue to be inspected batch-by-batch.
Between April 28 and Oct. 28, 13 out of 665 batches of polypropylene kitchenware imported from China have failed dissolution tests, TFDA data showed.
Such items have undergone 100 percent inspection since Jan. 1, and the policy would continue for the remainder of the year.
Other imports that were flagged included fresh and dried produce from China, Vietnam, Japan, the US and Australia, herbs and spices from China and Malaysia, and other foodstuffs from China, the Philippines, India, Japan, Italy, Australia and Norway.
These were stopped at the border for containing excessive pesticides, preservatives or heavy metals, the agency said.
“China is preparing to invade Taiwan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an exclusive interview with British media channel Sky News for a special report titled, “Is Taiwan ready for a Chinese invasion?” the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today in a statement. The 25-minute-long special report by Helen Ann-Smith released yesterday saw Sky News travel to Penghu, Taoyuan and Taipei to discuss the possibility of a Chinese invasion and how Taiwan is preparing for an attack. The film observed emergency response drills, interviewed baseball fans at the Taipei Dome on their views of US President
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a "tsunami watch" alert after a magnitude 8.7 earthquake struck off the Kamchatka Peninsula in northeastern Russia earlier in the morning. The quake struck off the east coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula at 7:25am (Taiwan time) at a depth of about 19km, the CWA said, citing figures from the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. The CWA's Seismological Center said preliminary assessments indicate that a tsunami could reach Taiwan's coastal areas by 1:18pm today. The CWA urged residents along the coast to stay alert and take necessary precautions as waves as high as 1m could hit the southeastern
ECONOMIC BENEFITS: The imports from Belize would replace those from Honduras, whose shrimp exports have dropped 67 percent since cutting ties in 2023 Maintaining ties with Taiwan has economic benefits, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials said yesterday, citing the approval of frozen whiteleg shrimp imports from Belize by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as an example. The FDA on Wednesday approved the tariff-free imports from Belize after the whiteleg shrimp passed the Systematic Inspection of Imported Food, which would continue to boost mutual trade, the ministry said. Taiwan’s annual consumption of whiteleg shrimps stands at 30,000 tonnes, far exceeding domestic production, the ministry said. Taiwan used to fill the gap by importing shrimps from Honduras, but purchases slumped after Tegucigalpa severed diplomatic ties with Taiwan
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
RSS