Pesticide levels in school lunches exceed standards: Taipei City inspection finds 6 items non-compliant

The Taipei City Department of Health conducted spot testing on schools with their own kitchens, and among them, passion fruit at Jingxing Elementary School had pesticide residues exceeding the limit by 171 times, with as many as 9 pesticides exceeding the limit; other fruits and vegetables, including those at Fuxing, Taoyuan, Taiping, Yongan, and Lishan Elementary Schools, also had exceedances.

The operator said the samples tested were from 10 month, when Typhoons Soudelor and Dujuan disrupted supplies and there was a severe shortage of goods; although the produce was also purchased at the legal Xiluo Fruit and Vegetable Market, it is suspected that the problematic products were contaminated by neighboring fields, and the frequency of testing will be increased in the future.

The Taipei City Department of Health conducted spot testing on schools with their own kitchens within its jurisdiction; the 125 samples included 52 meal boxes, 40 fruits and vegetables, 25 meat products, 5 noodle products, and 1 soy product, among others; of these, 6 fruit and vegetable items had pesticide residues that did not comply with regulations.

The item with the most exceedances was passion fruit supplied to Jingxing Elementary School, with 7 pesticides exceeding the limit. The highest was propamocarb, detected at 1.71ppm (standard 0.01ppm), exceeding the limit by 171 times; other pesticides over the limit included prochloraz, fluopicolide, fenoxycarb, dimethoate, and bupirimate, each exceeding the limit by 2 to 8 times, as well as methamidophos, which must not be detected.

The passion fruit supplied to Lishan Elementary School also had 3 pesticides over the limit; these included propamocarb 0.17ppm (0.01ppm), fenamiphos 0.16ppm (standard 0.01), and fluopicolide 0.02ppm (standard 0.01).

Other non-compliant vegetables included rapeseed at Fuxing Elementary School, where fenitrothion was detected at 1.42ppm (standard 1ppm); bok choy at Taoyuan Elementary School, where fenthion was detected at 1.81ppm (standard 1ppm); water spinach at Taiping Elementary School, where cyazofamid was detected at 0.11ppm (standard 0.01ppm); and A vegetable at Yongan Elementary School, where cyazofamid was detected at 0.07ppm (standard 0.01ppm).

Liu Xiaojing, a dietitian at Tongxian, the operator responsible for supplying Yongan Elementary School, said the samples sent for testing were all specimens from 10 month, when Typhoons Soudelor and Dujuan caused a severe shortage in the vegetable supply from cooperating operators, so purchases were made at the legal Xiluo Fruit and Vegetable Market.

"We also consulted experts at the poison laboratory," Liu Xiaojing said. The non-compliant doses are presumed to be due to contamination from neighboring fields, and with the large demand for group meals, although there is a rapid screening mechanism, it is still not as rigorous as laboratory spot testing. However, laboratory testing takes 2 weeks and cannot keep up, so "the company will currently increase the frequency of testing."

The Taipei City Department of Health said it has notified the schools and ordered the operators not to sell the products, and has also referred the matter to agricultural authorities to strengthen guidance for farmers on pesticide use and reduce pesticide residues; if pesticide residues exceed the permitted amount, a fine of 60,000 to 200 million yuan may be imposed under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.

The Taipei City Department of Health advised that operators should give priority to purchasing from operators with the CAS quality meat label and a trustworthy reputation, and that before buying vegetables, consumers should rinse the roots and fruit stems with running clean water, then soak in water for more than 10 minutes and wash, which can effectively remove pesticide residues.

The remaining meat products, noodle products, and soy products all met regulations; only 1 meal box did not meet the microbial limit regulations, and after correction within the deadline, re-inspection was completed and it passed.