The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of hotpot ingredients in hotpot restaurants resulted in a 16.7 percent failure rate. Eight vegetables had excessive pesticide residue and two other items had aflatoxin and excessive preservatives.
As the weather is getting colder, more people eat at hotpot restaurants so a random inspection of ingredients was conducted in October to ensure food safety, the department said.
Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) said 60 different ingredients were tested: 15 high-risk vegetables, 15 processed food items, 10 soy-based food items, five meat items, five lamb items, five seafood items and five peanut powder items.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Department of Health
Eight vegetable items — including four scallions, three bok choys and one white radish — were found to have pesticide residues exceeding maximum residue levels (MRLs), she said.
Meanwhile, one tofu had an excessive amount of benzoic acid, a preservative, and a peanut powder contained aflatoxin, Lin said.
Some popular hotpot restaurant chains were among the list of restaurants whose ingredients failed the inspection, including a Xin Dian Hotpot (辛殿麻辣鍋) branch that served a scallion that had pesticides — methoxyfenozide and thifluzamide — exceeding MRLs.
A MoMo-Paradise branch was also on the list. It served a bok choy with fipronil pesticides that exceeded MRLs and cyantraniliprole, which is banned on vegetables.
The department has already ordered the restaurants to remove the problematic ingredients from shelves, Lin said, adding that it informed the local health department where the ingredients were produced so it could be handled according to regulations.
Meanwhile, the department yesterday also released its findings from a random inspection of fresh fruits and vegetables sold in retailers, traditional markets and supermarkets, and used in restaurants. It found that 19 among 51 sampled items — a failure rate of 37.2 percent — to have pesticides that exceeded MRLs.
The 19 items include six corianders, two scallions, two bok choys, two edible gynuras (a leafy vegetable), two papayas, two white radishes, a passion fruit, a chili pepper and an eggplant.
Random sampling inspection can only find problems at the market, but management at the source of food production is crucial for ensuring food safety, Lin said, adding that the department urges farmers to use pesticides safely and correctly to avoid excessive pesticide residue.
Consumers are encouraged to purchase seasonal fresh fruits and vegetables, wash them thoroughly under running water, soak for about 10 to 20 minutes, and then wash them again with running water before cooking, she said.
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