FINES POSSIBLE: A health official said that white radishes, peppers, loofah products and pickled cucumbers were found to have pesticide residues exceeding legal limits

Taipei Times
Date: Jan 14, 2020
By: Lee I-chia  /  Staff reporter

Eight items failed an inspection of food products traditionally eaten over the Lunar New Year holiday, a failure rate of 4.2 percent among the 191 tested, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday.

The inspection was mainly of dried ingredients, including daylilies, bamboo mushrooms, wood ear fungus and spices, as well as fruits and vegetables, meats, nuts, candies, pastries and preserved fruit popularly purchased in preparation for the holiday.

“The Lunar New Year’s random sample inspection of food was conducted on 191 items and eight items failed, including seven that contained pesticide residues above regulatory limits,” Food and Drug Division head Chen Yi-ting (陳怡婷) said.

Of the eight items, four were Sichuan peppers that contained one to three types of pesticide residue exceeding legal limits, white radish, pickled cucumber and loofah products that had pesticide residues exceeding regulatory limits, and a dried daylily found to contain excessive sulfur dioxide additives, Chen said.    [FULL  STORY]