A shipment of designer-brand chopsticks from China was recently seized at Taiwan’s border after being found to contain the residue of a banned coloring agent, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.
A total of 25.14 kilograms of chopsticks imported by Loewe Taiwan Ltd. was confiscated after sample testing on Dec. 23, 2022 detected the banned 4-Aminoazobenzene dye, the FDA said.
Chen Ching-yu (???), head of the FDA’s Northern Center for Regional Administration, said 4-Aminoazobenzene is banned in Taiwan for use as a colorant in utensils and containers.
The 202 sets of Loewe wooden chopsticks will either be returned to the country of origin or destroyed, Chen said.
Meanwhile, the FDA also published a list of 19 other imported items that recently failed safety inspections, including shipments of fresh cherries from Chile, instant noodles from Indonesia and dried cayenne powder from Thailand.
The Chilean cherries which arrived in seven different shipments have been found to contain residue of cyantraniliprole, a type of insecticide, the FDA official said.
Taiwan allows a limited permissible level of cyantraniliprole in melons, cruciferous vegetables, tea leaves, apples and pears, but not cherries, he said.
Since Jan. 11, all cherries imported from the South American country have been subject to border testing after it was found that shipments were failing safety checks at a greater frequency, according to the FDA.
The FDA said it received Feb. 3 a reply from the Chilean authorities indicating that they had already instructed their exporters to conduct rigorous product monitoring during delivery and inspect products for pesticide residue before exporting them out of the country.
According to the administration, it informed the competent authority in Chile about the matter on Dec. 21, 2022.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel