Nearly 10 percent of 877 fruits, vegetables and agricultural products selected for pesticide residue tests in March and April were non-compliant, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The 82 non-compliant products, or 9.4 percent of the total, included strawberries imported from Japan and roses imported from Iran, according to the FDA.
The tests, part of the FDA’s pesticide residue monitoring program, covered 611 samples specifically chosen for enhanced monitoring, of which 79 samples failed to meet regulatory standards, and 266 randomly selected samples, with three non-compliant.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration via CNA
Among the non-compliant items, strawberries imported from Japan were found to contain 1.13 ppm of isopyrazam, a pesticide that is not allowed, and the importer was fined NT$60,000 (US$2013), said FDA Southern Center Director Wei Jen-ting (魏任廷).
Another batch of strawberries imported by the same importer during the same March-April monitoring period was found with 0.19 ppm of spirotetramat, another pesticide not permitted in strawberries, according to Wei.
Because it was the importer’s second violation, it was given an increased fine of NT$120,000, Wei said.
Also on the non-compliant list were roses imported from Iran, which was found to contain 0.15 ppm of cypermethrin, a pesticide not authorized for use in the product, according to Wei.
In addition, white fungus imported from China was found to contain 0.32 ppm of imidacloprid, violating usage regulations.
In a domestic case, locally grown cilantro taken from a domestic restaurant was found to contain 0.02 ppm each of chlorpyrifos and ethion, neither of which are allowed in the spice, Wei said, adding that the case is being further investigated.
Tropical Storm Nari is not a threat to Taiwan, based on its positioning and trajectory, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Nari has strengthened from a tropical depression that was positioned south of Japan, it said. The eye of the storm is about 2,100km east of Taipei, with a north-northeast trajectory moving toward the eastern seaboard of Japan, CWA data showed. Based on its current path, the storm would not affect Taiwan, the agency said.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
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