The Taipei City Department of Health released the results of the second wave of tea inspections in late April, in which three products were found to have pesticide levels exceeding the limit: Orange Workshop's Four Seasons Spring tea, jasmine green tea, and Sharetea's black tea. At the same time, results from testing of eggs sold in Taipei City showed that liquid eggs supplied by Changsheng Livestock Farm also had excessive residues of veterinary drugs. The Taipei City Department of Health has now ordered the problematic products to be removed from shelves and sealed, and has referred the case to the local health authority to clarify the source and subsequent legal liability.

The Department of Health also released the results of the second wave of tea inspections in late April, in which three products were found to have excessive pesticide residues. These included the green leaf red-rimmed tea (Four Seasons Spring) from Chaguowang Food and Beverage Store (trade name Orange Workshop), which was found to contain the herbicide oxyfluorfen at 0.09 ppm (standard: not detectable), and its jasmine green tea, which was found to contain fipronil at 0.006 ppm (standard: 0.002 ppm); and black tea from Lianfa Catering Co. (trade name Sharetea), which was found to contain fipronil at 0.01 ppm (standard: 0.002 ppm).

Blended tea problems arise, vendors fail to provide inspection reports

All the problematic tea leaves have now been fully removed from shelves and sealed, but Orange Workshop applied to the Taipei City Department of Health on May 28 for a repeat test; and Wang Mingli, head of the Food and Drug Division, further said that Mingtai and Jingyi both purchased tea leaves from different tea farmers and had Datong Tea Industry blend the tea, while Ah Hua Shi comes from Yadong Tea Factory and Songjie Tea Leaves, all of which are "blended tea," and it is still being clarified whether the source of the problematic tea comes from the purchasers or the blending factory.

Therefore, the Taipei City Department of Health specifically urges downstream operators to be sure to obtain inspection reports from upstream, and also to test their own products, in order to ensure food safety.

At present, the "Taipei City Food Ingredient Registration Platform" still relies on voluntary registration by operators. The beverage and ice products section currently has 28 operators and 951 items registered, with related information including ingredient sources, places of origin, packaging materials, calories, and inspection reports.

An investigation found that Chaguowang's head office (Orange Workshop) had registered only 17 items, a registration rate of only 21%, while Lianfa International Catering (Sharetea) had registered 53 items, a registration rate of 87%, but neither operator provided product inspection reports.

Therefore, Wang Mingli, head of the Food and Drug Division of the Taipei City Department of Health, urged operators to complete self-registration by the end of June, and said that in the future the information on the platform will also be audited by a third-party unit to confirm the accuracy of the information.

One egg product fails, excessive bactericide residue

At the same time, the Taipei City Department of Health tested 23 egg products and 3 liquid egg products sold at egg shops, farmers' associations, grocery stores, supermarkets, and market stalls for 48 kinds of multi-class veterinary drugs, chloramphenicols (chloramphenicol, thiamphenicol, florfenicol), Salmonella, and heavy metals lead and copper.

Of these, all 23 egg products passed, and among the liquid eggs only Changsheng Livestock Farm was found to contain the veterinary drug trimethoprim at 0.03 ppm (standard: 0.02 ppm). In addition to requiring the selling Maoxin Hui Egg Shop to remove the product from shelves, the case has been referred to the Changhua County Health Bureau for investigation.

Trimethoprim is a synthetic bactericide, and excessive use may cause gastrointestinal discomfort and affect kidney function. Its permitted residue tolerance in the muscle, liver, kidney, fat and other parts of poultry animals is 0.05 ppm, but in poultry eggs only 0.02 ppm may remain.

The Department of Health said that egg products are prone to microbial contamination during production, and poultry farmers use drugs to control bacteria, indirectly affecting egg quality, so breeders should strictly comply with related regulations such as withdrawal periods, application dosages, and animal age. If veterinary drug residues exceed the permitted amount, a fine of NT$60,000 to NT$200 million may be imposed under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.