Taipei City Health Department sampled 137 produce items; all organic produce passed, 2 regular products exceeded standards
The Taipei City Department of Health sampled 137 fruits and vegetables sold on the market, and 2 items tested positive for excessive pesticide residues: a napa cabbage (heart cabbage) from the A-mart Zhongxiao store and a qingjiang bok choy from the Wanhua Qingfang Fruit and Vegetable Shop. Both came from Yunlin County and have now been taken off the shelves; neither had entered elementary and junior high school nutritional lunches. However, the Yunlin County Health Bureau said that leafy greens have a short shelf life and there is currently no stock left, in other words, they may all have been sold or rotted. The Taipei City Department of Health reminds the public that vegetables can be washed under running water, and when stir-frying, the lid can be opened to let the pesticides dissipate.
All 15 organic fruits and vegetables passed
From April to June, the Taipei City Department of Health visited major hypermarkets, vegetable markets, supermarkets, schools and organic stores and sampled 137 fruits and vegetables. The results were announced today: all 15 organic fruits and vegetables passed, with no pesticide residues detected; among the other conventional products, 24 tested positive for pesticides, but 22 of them met the Ministry of Health and Welfare's "Standards for Safe Allowable Amounts of Pesticide Residues," while 2 exceeded the limit.
Among the non-compliant products, one was a napa cabbage (heart cabbage) sampled on April 7 by the Taipei City Department of Health at the A-mart Zhongxiao store (Far Eastern Department Stores Co., Ltd. Zhongxiao Branch), which was found to contain carbofuran at 0.75 ppm, exceeding the standard value of 0.5 ppm. The source was the Lao Yu Agricultural Products Shop at the Xiluo Market in Yunlin County.
The other was a qingjiang bok choy purchased on April 10 at the Wanhua Qingfang Fruit and Vegetable Shop. It came from the Tianwei Collection and Distribution Center of the Qingguo Cooperative Jiainan Branch in Erlun Township, Yunlin, and was found to contain profenofos at 1.48 ppm, with a standard value of 1 ppm.
Qiu Xiuyi, director of the Food and Drug Administration Division of the Taipei City Department of Health, said that both pesticides are among the items permitted under the Council of Agriculture's announcement. The stores have been required to remove all of them from the shelves. Under Article 44 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$50 million may be imposed, and the case has already been transferred to the Yunlin County Health Bureau for discretionary handling.
However, the same batch of vegetables had probably already been eaten. The Food Section of the Yunlin County Health Bureau said it only received the message from the Taipei City Department of Health on July 22; vegetables have a short shelf life, so they were either all sold or had rotted. After interviewing the operators on August 8, the Lao Yu Agricultural Products Shop has been transferred to the Agriculture Department, while the other operator still has doubts and is currently still making its statement; no fines have yet been issued. In the future, the Agriculture Department will keep a register and list them for control, keeping a close eye on operators with prior records.
