Fengru tea recognized as food, local calls for pesticide standards to be established as soon as possible

Penghu's traditional tea drink, fengru tea, was found by the Ministry of Health and Welfare in September to have never been approved as a food ingredient, and vendors were notified to pull it from shelves entirely; on the 11th of this month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare approved it, determining that fengru tea is a food ingredient, but some farmers said helplessly that during this period they did not dare sell it, did not dare use pesticides, and consumers did not dare eat it, "Who are we supposed to ask to compensate for the losses?" The Kaohsiung District Agricultural Research and Extension Station and local farmers are urging the competent authority to establish pesticide use standards for fengru grass as soon as possible, following the example of chrysanthemum, but the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine said it would take at least 3 months, and during that time farmers should still refrain from using pesticides to be safe.

Fengru tea off shelves for three months, farmers: who do we ask to compensate for the losses?

Known as "Penghu herbal tea," fengru tea has been successfully marketed in recent years and has become a popular local souvenir, but in August this year the Penghu Health Bureau received a report, and after testing found that of six fengru tea vendors, five failed pesticide residue standards; the Ministry of Health and Welfare conducted a further investigation and found that fengru tea had never undergone a safety assessment and could not be used as food, and before the assessment was completed, the sale of fengru tea was banned entirely.

On the 11th of this month, the Ministry of Health and Welfare approved it, determining that fengru tea is a food ingredient. Tsai Shu-chen, section chief of the Food Division of the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said that after collecting data on the dietary habits, scope, and history of fengru tea, expert review determined that fengru tea is a general food ingredient that can be freely bought and sold, but it must comply with pesticide residue standards and food labeling requirements.

Local farmers all breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing this, but Hsieh Tzu-mou, head of the Baikeng Xiangru production and marketing group, said helplessly that the group has 35 members and more than 10 hectares of planting area, and during this period, farmers did not dare plant, did not dare use pesticides, and consumers did not dare buy, "We don't know how to calculate the losses, and we don't know who to ask for compensation." He hopes the government can establish standards as soon as possible so that farmers have a basis for cultivation and pesticide use.