Thai mangosteens blocked at border for 2nd consecutive week

Taipei, Oct. 3 (CNA) Mangosteens imported from Thailand were stopped at Taiwan's border for the second consecutive week because they contained excessive amounts of an insecticide, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said Tuesday that mangosteens imported by Greather Fruit Trading Co., Ltd contained 0.05 mg/kg of the insecticide cypermethrin, well above the maximum permissible limit of 0.01 mg/kg.

The batch of 1,704 kg of mangosteens will be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, Lin said.

According to the FDA's weekly reports on intercepted imports, mangosteens imported by the same company were also blocked at the border last week because they contained excessive levels of cadmium.

That prompted the FDA to increase the frequency of its checks of products imported by Greather Fruit Trading to shipment-by-shipment inspections, Lin said.

Meanwhile, seasonings from Indonesia imported by Hocm Trading Co., Ltd. were found to contain excessive amounts of cyclamate, a type of artificial sweetener whose use Taiwan permits only for specific products, including melon seeds, preserved fruits, plum powder and carbonated drinks.

Following the finding, the FDA also increased the frequency of its checks of products imported by that company.

According to the FDA's latest weekly report on intercepted imports, a total of 15 goods, including Vietnamese durians, Japanese peaches and pears, and parsley from the Netherlands, were recently stopped at the border and either destroyed or returned to their countries of origin.