Investigation into the Fuli Rice Incident: Hualien County Government Owes Organic Farmers and Consumers an Explanation

In June of this year, amid the much-talked-about incident in which the Consumers' Foundation tested Fuli organic rice and found residues of the pesticide "carbaryl," the Hualien County Government unusually held a press conference demanding that the Consumers' Foundation apologize, threatening to sue otherwise. However, NewsMarket reporters recently obtained information showing that a bag of organic rice from the same batch number that the Fuli Farmers' Association submitted for testing itself also tested positive for the pesticide carbaryl at 0.06 PPM (parts per million), with the sample numbered 201306111-04. Yet the Hualien County Government not only failed to investigate the cause of the residue, but former acting general manager Li Suping, when questioned by reporters at the time, repeatedly denied that any pesticide had been detected.

Throughout the entire incident, from Lee Tsang-lang, Director-General of the Agriculture and Food Agency, and Wang Chang-ying, head of the Eastern Region Branch, down to Chang Chih-chao, Director of the Hualien County Government's Department of Agriculture, all had heard of and were aware that the organic rice submitted for testing, taken off shelves and recalled by the Fuli Farmers' Association still tested positive for trace amounts of pesticides. But as media attention faded, the relevant agencies' follow-up tracking of this incident simply went nowhere, and they completely failed to fulfill their gatekeeping and oversight responsibilities.

To trace the possible causes of the trace pesticide residue in Fuli organic rice, NewsMarket reporters traveled in person to Hualien, visiting the Fuli Farmers' Association rice mill, Luoshan Organic Village and people involved in organic agriculture, to investigate the possible reasons why the organic rice tested positive for pesticide residues.

Taken as a whole, the incident highlights that agricultural authorities from the central to the local level lack long-term policy planning and production-and-marketing support for organic agriculture, and that, combined with improper political maneuvering and weak gatekeeping, all of this has had a negative impact on the operation of organic agriculture.

Not only the Consumers' Foundation: samples submitted by the Fuli Farmers' Association also tested positive for pesticide residues

There are many possible reasons why organic rice tests positive for pesticide residues. It could be pesticide use by farmers, or it could be pesticide sprayed on neighboring fields using conventional farming methods contaminating it through irrigation water or air. In addition, during the harvesting or milling and processing of the rice, machinery could also inadvertently mix in rice from conventional farming. Finally, during the storage, transport and shelving of the rice, pesticide spraying for disinfection by logistics providers or stores could also inadvertently cause contamination. As for the testing methods and interpretation of the testing company, there is also the possibility of anomalies.

However, after the Consumers' Foundation announced the Fuli organic rice pesticide residue incident, two different testing bodies tested packaged rice from the same batch number that had been taken off shelves and recalled, and both found residues of the same type of pesticide, "carbaryl." Therefore, the possibility that the problem lies with the testing company can be almost ruled out, and the pesticide residue issue should be examined in terms of the production, processing and storage-and-transport processes.

The article is not finished; please see

Investigative Report Series Part 2: "Neighboring Field Contamination" in the Organic Village?

Investigative Report Series Part 3: An Independent Organic Rice Processing Plant, Inadvertently Mixed with Conventional Rice?

Investigative Report Series Part 4: Officials Lying and Policy Appeasement Strangle the Development of Organic Agriculture

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Fuli Farmers' Association Gives Up Suing the Consumers' Foundation; Is the Gatekeeping Controversy Settled Just Like That?

Du Lihua, Driving Force Behind Hualien's Toxin-Free Agriculture: Gatekeeping Is the Government's Inescapable Responsibility

NewsMarket Report - High Environmental Contamination Risk: Should Organic Agriculture Maintain "No Pesticide Detected"?