Condiments imported from U.S., Indonesia stopped at Taiwan border

Taipei, Nov. 5 (CNA) Shipments of condiments imported from the United States and Indonesia were recently intercepted at the border because they contained a banned pesticide and excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The agency publishes a weekly list of items intercepted at the border in recent weeks, and Tuesday's list had 30 imported items, including 122 kilograms of Tabasco Habanero Sauce from the U.S.

The shipment of the habanero sauce was intercepted because it contained the carcinogenic pesticide ethylene oxide, which is banned in Taiwan.

TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said that over the past six months, 23 shipments of condiments from the U.S. have been found to violate relevant Taiwanese regulations.

U.S. officials have responded to Taiwan's complaints, and Taiwan will keep watch on related items until the end of November, he said.

If violations persist, all importers that have brought in subpar condiments will be prohibited from importing products into Taiwan, Lin added.

The shipment from Indonesia of 1,117.56 kg of "ABC, Sambal Bawang Pedas" sauce was found to have 0.101g/kg of sulfur dioxide, exceeding the legal limit of 0.03g/kg, according to the TFDA.

This was the first offense by the importer, Index Mulia Co., within the last six months, and its imports will be subject to increased inspection, Lin said.

Other intercepted items described in the latest report by the TFDA include a shipment of lunch boxes imported by Step Star Co., Ltd., and five shipments of chopping boards imported by Star Smile International Co., all of which were imported from China and failed dissolution tests, according to the TFDA.

Lin said products imported by the two companies will continue to be inspected batch-by-batch.

Between April 28 and Oct. 28, 13 out of 665 batches of polypropylene kitchenware imported from China have failed dissolution tests, TFDA data showed.

Such items have undergone 100 percent inspection since Jan. 1, 2024, and the policy will continue for the remainder of the year.

Other imports that were flagged included fresh and dried produce from China, Vietnam, Japan, the U.S. and Australia, herbs and spices from China and Malaysia, and other foodstuffs from China, the Philippines, India, Japan, Italy, Australia and Norway.

These were stopped at the border for containing excessive pesticides, preservatives or heavy metals, according to the TFDA.