Goji berries found to contain 11 pesticides, 2 of which exceeded limits, involving the time-honored brand Hanbushijia
The Taipei City Government Department of Health recently received a citizen complaint about goji berry products sold by Han Bu Shi Jia Enterprise Co., Ltd. Testing results detected multiple pesticides exceeding the standard. The Department of Health dispatched inspectors, and detected 11 residual pesticides. Of these, 9 were within the residual pesticide levels announced by the Council of Agriculture, but 2 insecticide pesticides exceeded the standard, namely: Acetamiprid at 1.52 ppm (standard: 1.0 ppm or below) and the acaricide Propargite at 0.08 ppm (standard: must not be detected), failing to comply with the "Pesticide Residue Tolerance Standards."
According to the Taipei City Department of Health investigation, the goji berry products in the case were purchased by Han Bu Shi Jia Enterprise Co., Ltd. in March of ROC year 104 under the name of Qi He Trading Co., Ltd. from "Cun Ji" in Changhua County, 40 jin in total, and then repackaged into bags of 600 grams each for sale. On-site inspection by the department found only 3 packs of the product remaining. In addition to requiring the company to immediately remove the products from shelves and stop selling them, the case has been referred to the Changhua County Health Bureau for investigation, and the Food and Drug Administration, Ministry of Health and Welfare has been copied. The Taipei City Department of Health will continue to maintain close contact with the Changhua County Health Bureau to track whether the problematic products have entered Taipei City for sale.
According to Article 7 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, food businesses shall implement self-management, establish food safety monitoring plans, and ensure food hygiene and safety. Accordingly, food sold by food businesses shall comply with hygiene, safety and quality standards. If any non-compliant matters are found, they will be handled in accordance with the law. The Department of Health has already carried out a special sampling inspection plan for goji berry products on the market. If any non-compliant situations are found, they will be handled in accordance with violations of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.