11,040 kg of Korean chili powder seized at Taiwan border

Taipei, April 16 (CNA) Five shipments of chili powder imported from Korea totaling 11,040 kilograms were recently intercepted at Taiwan's border after being found to contain excessive pesticide residue, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The five shipments of Korean chili powder were all found to contain chlormequat -- a pesticide that can be used as a plant growth regulator -- at concentrations ranging from 0.09 to 2.03 parts per million (ppm), exceeding the non-detectable limit, TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said.

One of the shipments also tested positive for 0.06 ppm of the herbicide 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid, Lin said, adding that the five shipments had been either destroyed or returned to their country of origin.

According to information provided by the TFDA, the goods seized from the five shipments were of the same brand, "BIGFARM KOREA" and imported from the Korean company BIG FARM KOREA CO., LTD. by Harn Guan Co. Ltd. in New Taipei.

The first batch was accepted for inspection on March 6, with the remaining four accepted on March 13, according to the TFDA.

In addition to the five Korean chili powder shipments seized, the TDFA stated a shipment of dried chili from Vietnam weighing 40 kilograms and a shipment of chili powder weighing 2 km from Spain had also been found to contain excessive pesticide residue and had been seized.

Due to the widespread use of Chinese chili powder contaminated with Sudan red dyes in Taiwan, the TFDA has conducted batch-by-batch border inspections on chili powder imported from China since Dec. 11, 2023, and will continue to do so until at least June 10.

Early last month, the TFDA further escalated regulatory measures, subjecting all imported chili powder and raw ingredients for chili powder, regardless of the country of origin, to batch-by-batch border inspections starting March 6.

In the weekly border seizure report, a total of 20 items -- 19 shipments of food products and one shipment of ziplock bags -- failed border tests, including chips imported from the Philippines that contained excessive preservatives, fresh firefly squid from Japan that contained excessive heavy metal, and blood oranges from Japan that contained excessive pesticide residue.