Indian curry powder, Japanese fresh melons seized at border

Taipei, March 5 (CNA) Shipments of fresh muskmelons from Japan and curry powder from India were recently seized at Taiwan's border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residues, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

According to information from the TFDA, a batch of "AGRONIC" brand curry powder imported by Think Natural INC. from India was found to contain ethylene oxide -- a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide -- at 0.1 milligrams per kilogram (mg/kg), exceeding the non-detectable limit.

TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said the agency will conduct more inspections of the Indian seasoning products imported by Think Natural INC.

From Aug. 26, 2023 to Feb. 26, 2024, 36 batches of Indian seasoning, totaling 61.65 metric tons, was inspected by the TFDA at the border, with three batches testing positive for ethylene oxide, he added.

For the batch of fresh muskmelons flagged during inspection, meanwhile, it was imported by CHIAN HER FRUIT Co., Ltd. from Japan, and tested positive for Nitenpyram at 0.04 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the non-detectable limit for the pesticide, according to the TFDA.

Lin said all fresh muskmelons imported by CHIAN HER FRUIT Co., Ltd. will now be subjected to batch-by-batch inspections, noting that over the past six months, three out of 268 batches of muskmelons from Japan inspected by the TFDA were found to contain excessive pesticide residue.

In response to the increasing instances of muskmelons testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the inspection rate for Japanese muskmelons was increased by the TFDA to 20-50 percent on Dec. 25, 2023, and that measure will be implemented at the border until June 24 this year, according to Lin.

In accordance with TFDA regulations, the 75 kilograms of curry powder and 18 kilograms of fresh muskmelons found to have excessive pesticide residues in the border inspection will be destroyed or returned to their country of origin.

Apart from the two Japanese and Indian food items, three other items also failed the latest border inspections, including mung beans from Myanmar, black tea from Vietnam, and baking paper from China.

The mung beans and black tea were found to have excessive pesticide residues, while the Chinese product failed the leaching test, TFDA data showed.