3 batches of imported cheese blocked at border for E. coli

Taipei, Oct. 21 (CNA) Three batches of cheese imported from France and Switzerland were seized at Taiwan's border after testing revealed excessive levels of Escherichia coli (E. coli), the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

The imports were listed among 17 products that failed the FDA's latest round of border inspections, including frozen mako shark from the Seychelles and fish cakes from Indonesia, which tested positive for excessive pesticide residues or other irregularities. All non-compliant items have been ordered returned or destroyed.

Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘), director of the FDA's Northern Taiwan Management Center, told CNA that the bacterial contamination in the cheese was likely caused by insanitary production or storage conditions.

Over the past six months, only these three batches of cheese from France and Switzerland have failed inspection, Liu noted. Although other cheese products from the same countries remain subject to standard random inspections, the three importers involved will now face stricter checks, with sampling rates increased to between 20 and 50 percent, he added.

In a separate case, a well-known bubble tea company imported a batch of straws from China that failed dissolution testing. Results showed an evaporation residue of 49 ppm after immersion in 4 percent acetic acid at 95°C for 30 minutes.

Under Taiwan's regulations for food utensils, containers and packages, polypropylene-based plastics must have an evaporation residue of 30 ppm or less under the same test conditions. As a result, the 450-kilogram batch was ordered returned or destroyed.

The importer of the non-compliant straws will also be placed under enhanced inspection, with sampling rates increased to 20-50 percent, while other importers of similar products from the country of origin remain under standard inspection procedures, Liu said.