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.
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
City buses in Taipei and New Taipei City, as well as the Taipei MRT, would on Saturday begin accepting QR code payments from five electronic payment providers, the Taipei Department of Transportation said yesterday. The new option would allow passengers to use the “transportation QR code” feature from EasyWallet, iPass Money, iCash Pay, Jkopay or PXPay Plus. Passengers should open their preferred electronic payment app, select the “transportation code” — not the regular payment code — unlock it, and scan the code at ticket readers or gates, General Planning Division Director-General Liu Kuo-chu (劉國著) said. People should move through the
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