Pesticide found in suspected food poisoning not related to farming: TFDA

Taipei, Sept. 21 (CNA) The pesticide found in a suspected food poisoning case that left three people dead earlier this week was not a result of farming residue, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Saturday.

According to the TFDA's latest tests, up to 1,323 milligrams per kilogram of terbufos - a hazardous chemical compound found in some pesticides - was detected in a rice mortar used for cooking found in the home of the first victim.

The incident was traced back to the death of an 83-year-old woman identified by her surname Tseng (曾), who died after eating glutinous millet dumplings she made on Tuesday.

That evening, several relatives and friends who came to mourn her death and ate leftover glutinous millet dumplings and other items in Tseng's kitchen later exhibited symptoms such as vomiting and convulsion.

Two of them died, six were placed in intensive care, and three others received medical treatment the following day, according to the latest hospital count.

TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) told reporters that among all the food materials used in the dumplings, only the millet flour tested positive for high levels of terbufos, suggesting that the source of poisoning was most likely the millet.

Tests also revealed that all other pesticides potentially used in millet cultivation had residue levels below 1 mg/kg, Lin stated, concluding that "the terbufos was not a result of ordinary agricultural practices."

Therefore, the substance found in the case was either consumed inadvertently or was deliberately introduced as a poison, he said.

Earlier in the day, a toxicology expert on highlighted the danger of terbufos.

An adult weighing 60 kilograms may experience health risks if they consume as little as 0.036 milligrams of terbufos daily, said Yen Tzung-hai (顏宗海), a toxicologist at Linkou Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, at a toxicology forum held at the hospital.

However, the glutinous millet dumplings linked to the suspected food poisoning case and the three deaths were found to contain up to 224 mg of terbufos per kilogram, with the concentration in the millet even higher at 405 mg per kilogram, more than 800 times higher than illegal concentrations of the substance identified over the past three years.

At the forum, Yen urged greater vigilance over terbufos because it is fat-soluble and cannot be washed off with water.

Cases of organophosphorus poisoning, including the current incident, occur almost every month, he said.

The overall mortality rate for such cases is approximately 15 percent, increasing to 20 percent for the elderly, Yen noted, adding that the higher mortality rate in the current case is likely due to patients already being in critical condition when they arrived at the hospital.

This appears to be the first case of such severe mass food poisoning caused by terbufos in Taiwan, he added.

Yen also expressed confusion, noting that test results indicated the pesticide levels in the glutinous millet dumplings were exceptionally high - "even exceeding what would typically be used for agricultural purposes."

According to the police, a family member of the victim said the problematic millet was not grown by Tseng but given to her by an as yet unidentified party.