Taichung City Health Bureau's random inspection of fruits and vegetables found excessive pesticide residues in Yumaowu snap beans and loofah from RT-Mart and PX Mart
The Taichung City Health Bureau conducted spot inspections of seasonal agricultural products ahead of the Mid-Autumn Festival, sampling 20 items of produce including greenhouse bell peppers, water bamboo, sweet corn, sponge gourd and green peppers from supermarkets and retail outlets, and testing for pesticide residues; 3 items failed to meet standards.
Among them, a "Xinyi snap bean" sampled at the Chongde store of Yumaowu Co., Ltd. in Beitun District was found to contain "Fipronil" at 0.004ppm (safe tolerance 0.001ppm), inconsistent with regulations; the operator was notified to remove the product from shelves, and the case was referred to the Changhua Health Bureau for investigation at the source.
At the Zhongming store of RT-Mart in the North District, a sampled "sponge gourd" was found to contain "Chlorpyrifos" at 0.17ppm (safe tolerance 0.01ppm), and a "sponge gourd" sampled at the Linsen store of PX Mart in the West District was found to contain "Fenvalerate" at 0.13ppm (safe tolerance 0.01ppm); the Health Bureau notified the operators to remove the products from shelves and referred the cases to the Yunlin County Health Bureau for investigation and handling based on the vegetable source.
The Health Bureau further noted that "Fipronil", "Chlorpyrifos" and "Fenvalerate" are insecticides, and animal testing has found that excessive exposure may harm liver and kidney health, and may even affect the respiratory system.
Taichung City Health Bureau Director Hsu Yung-nien reminded the public that when washing vegetables, they can soak them in clean water for 15 to 20 minutes and rinse with running water 2 to 3 times or more; for bell peppers, green peppers and other produce with sunken stem ends where pesticides easily accumulate, it is recommended to cut these off first before rinsing, to reduce intake of pesticide residues on the vegetables.