Taiwan rejects broccoli shipments from Thailand, Vietnam due to contamination

Several shipments imported broccoli from Thailand and Vietnam recently failed Customs inspections because they were found to contain excessive levels of either heavy metal or pesticide residues, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

In its latest report on substandard food imports, the FDA said a total of 13 shipments had been rejected recently at Customs.

They included one batch of broccoli from Thailand and two from Vietnam, which exceeded the safety levels for residues of heavy metals, the FDA said. Another shipment of the same vegetable from Vietnam was found to contain high levels of pesticide residues, the FDA added.

In lights of those findings, it said, Taiwan Customs will step up its checks of food products brought in by the four importers of the broccoli, from the basic 2-10 percent to about 20-50 percent.

Meanwhile, a batch of hericium erinaceus, known locally as monkey head mushroom, imported from China, was also found to be contaminated with high levels of pesticide residues, the FDA said, adding that it was the 13th time in six months that had occurred with imports of the product from China.

All the substandard food imports, including two batches of tangerines from Japan and one shipment of whole mace flower from India, were either returned or destroyed, according to the FDA.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel