Indian coriander powder destroyed at border for containing toxic dye

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) A batch of coriander powder imported from India has been destroyed at the border for containing Sudan I, a banned toxic dye, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The 10 kilogram batch of spices also contained excessive amounts of pesticides, according to the TFDA.

Cheng Wei-chih (鄭維智), head of the TFDA's Northern Center for Regional Administration, said coriander powder imported from India is subject to batch-by-batch inspection for Sudan dyes until June 4, 2026.

Meanwhile, two separate batches of gelato take-out containers from Italy, both imported by Venchi Taiwan Limited, Taiwan Branch (Hong Kong), were stopped at the border for violating separate import regulations.

The 62.04 kg batch of containers for the chocolate brand Venchi contained optical brightening agents, which are banned for food container use, and also failed dissolution tests, the TFDA said.

Cheng said containers that fail dissolution tests may release toxic substances even under normal use.

This is the first violation in two years for the importer, whose imports will now be subject to an inspection rate of 20-50 percent instead of the usual rate of 2-10 percent, Cheng said.

Also on Tuesday's list of items blocked at the border were dried mulberries from China, nirala cumin powder from India, and fresh durian from Vietnam, which were flagged for excessive bleach, pesticides and heavy metal contaminations, respectively.