Taoyuan company's leek imports fail border inspection for pesticides

Taipei, Oct. 8 (CNA) A batch of fresh Japanese leeks imported by a Taoyuan company were intercepted at the border because residues of two types of pesticides were detected, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said on Tuesday.

The 4.5 kilograms of the vegetable tested positive for amisulbrom at 0.03 parts per million (ppm) and prothiofos at 0.02 ppm, according to the agency's weekly briefing.

The leeks imported by Taoyuan-based Liyu Trade Co. will either be returned or destroyed at the border, according to TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富), who noted that the company's products had failed previous inspections.

While enhanced inspections targeting Japanese leeks were already in place, the TFDA will now carry out batch-by-batch testing, he said.

According to the TFDA, Taiwan imported 202 batches of Japanese leeks and other allium vegetables from March 30 to Sept. 30 this year, of which five, or 2.5 percent, were found to contain excessive levels of pesticides.

Other items the TFDA determined to be substandard in the past seven days included smoked paprika powder from Spain, prawn crackers from Indonesia and cinnamon powder from the United States.