Nearly 4 tonnes of Chinese mitten crab was stopped at the border after tests found traces of a banned veterinary drug, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
The crab meat, imported by Taoyuan-based Ruiheng International Trade Co, contained 0.04 parts per million of sulfadiazine, which Taiwanese authorities prohibit in crustaceans.
Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘), director of the FDA’s Northern Taiwan Management Center, told a news conference that the entire 3,915kg shipment has been ordered either returned or destroyed.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
Long-term consumption of seafood contaminated with such substances could lead to antibiotic resistance, making infections harder or impossible to treat, Liu said.
It was the first failed batch among three shipments of Chinese mitten crabs tested this year, he said.
Since 2017, Taiwan has required that all mitten crab shipments from China be tested for drug residues, dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls.
Last year, 31 batches were inspected, with one rejected for excessive dioxin levels.
The shipment of crabs rejected recently was among 11 imported food products, including melons from Japan, fish cakes from Indonesia, radish leaves from China and lettuce from Malaysia, that failed inspections.
A batch of Australian oranges imported by Costco Taiwan tested positive for gibberellin A3, a growth regulator that is banned in citrus fruits.
The 18-tonne shipment was ordered destroyed or returned, Liu said, adding that Costco imports of oranges would face enhanced inspection rates of 20 to 50 percent.
Yangmingshan National Park authorities yesterday urged visitors to respect public spaces and obey the law after a couple was caught on a camera livestream having sex at the park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) earlier in the day. The Shilin Police Precinct in Taipei said it has identified a suspect and his vehicle registration number, and would summon him for questioning. The case would be handled in accordance with public indecency charges, it added. The couple entered the park at about 11pm on Thursday and began fooling around by 1am yesterday, the police said, adding that the two were unaware of the park’s all-day live
Yangmingshan National Park’s Qingtiangang (擎天崗) nature area has gone viral after a park livestream camera observed a couple in the throes of intimate congress, which was broadcast live on YouTube, drawing large late-night crowds and sparking a backlash over noise, bright lights and disruption to wildlife habitat. The area’s livestream footage appeared to show a couple engaging in sexual activity on a picnic table in the park on Friday last week, with the uncensored footage streamed publicly online. The footage quickly spread across social media, prompting a tide of visitors to travel to the site to “check in” and recreate the
Fast food chain McDonald's is to raise prices by up to NT$5 on some products at its restaurants across Taiwan, starting on Wednesday next week, the company announced today. The prices of all extra value meals and sharing boxes are to increase by NT$5, while breakfast combos and creamy corn soup would go up by NT$3, the company said in a statement. The price of the main items of those meals, if ordered individually, would remain the same. Meanwhile, the price of a medium-sized lemon iced tea and hot cappuccino would rise by NT$3, extra dipping sauces for chicken nuggets would go up
Minister of Digital Affairs Lin Yi-ching (林宜敬) yesterday cited regulatory issues and national security concerns as an expert said that Taiwan is among the few Asian regions without Starlink. Lin made the remarks on Facebook after funP Innovation Group chief executive officer Nathan Chiu (邱繼弘) on Friday said Taiwan and four other countries in Asia — China, North Korea, Afghanistan and Syria — have no access to Starlink. Starlink has become available in 166 countries worldwide, including Ukraine, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam, in the six years since it became commercial, he said. While China and North Korea block Starlink, Syria is not
RSS