The Food and Drug Administration announced pesticide test results: the failure rate for peas reached 40 percent, and the failure rate for chrysanthemums exceeded 30 percent.
The Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare yesterday released this year's pesticide testing results; the overall pass rate was 89.3%, and among the failing items, bean vegetables had the highest failure rate, with one out of every 3 samples exceeding pesticide limits, and among them peas reached a failure rate of 40%; spices and herbaceous plants such as roses, chrysanthemums and lotus had a failure rate of about 20%, with chrysanthemums the highest at 35.7%. Because these are mostly raw materials for herbal teas sold in dried form and consumers usually do not wash them after buying, the FDA reminded the public that it is best not to drink the first infusion of flower tea, and to let hot water dissolve out the pesticides.
Pea failure rate as high as 40%
The FDA this year inspected a total of 2,402 agricultural products, with an overall pass rate of 89.3%; vegetables had a pass rate of 87.0%, fruit 92.0%, and other categories 95.8%. Among the 257 agricultural products that exceeded limits, the insecticide "fipronil" was the most common, detected 41 times.
Among vegetables, the category with the highest failure rate was bean vegetables at 35.2%, which has topped the list for five consecutive years, and among them peas had a failure rate as high as 40%. Liu Fang-ming, acting director of the FDA's Southern Region, said bean vegetables include peas, snap beans and common beans, but not bean sprouts; they are all continuously harvested crops with uneven maturity, making it relatively difficult for farmers to assess the timing of pesticide application, and they may be harvested before the safe pre-harvest interval has passed, so inspections will be strengthened in the future.
Among vegetables, the second highest for pesticide residues was fruiting vegetables at 20.6%, and the third was small leafy vegetables at 10.8%; among fruits, the highest failure rate was stone fruit at 11.1%, followed by citrus at 10.7%.
Chrysanthemum pesticide residues exceed 30%, do not drink the first infusion
In other categories, spices and other herbaceous plants had a high failure rate of 20.5%; spices are the common raw materials for herbal teas, such as chrysanthemums, roses and lotus. Liu Fang-ming said a total of 83 samples were inspected this year, 17 of which failed, with chrysanthemums having the highest failure rate at 35.7%, followed by roses.
According to data from the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine of the Council of Agriculture, Taiwan's domestically grown chrysanthemums cover only 25-30 hectares, and more than half are imported from China. However, Liu Fang-ming said the FDA inspects products on the market and does not specifically target domestic or imported agricultural products; if importers repeatedly violate the rules, imports can be banned.
Because chrysanthemums and roses are mostly sold in dried form and are difficult to wash, Liu Fang-ming reminded the public that it is best not to drink the first infusion of chrysanthemum tea, and to let hot water dissolve out the pesticides.
The FDA suggests rinsing the roots of vegetables under running water, removing the roots, then soaking in water for 10 to 20 minutes, changing the water 1-3 times, and then rinsing again with clean water; when stir-frying or making vegetable soup, do not cover the pot, so that pesticides can evaporate away with the steam; crops with peel, such as cucumbers, lychees and longans, are best washed with water before peeling and eating.