Japanese soy sauce stopped at border

Taipei, Nov. 4 (CNA) A batch of imported Japanese soy sauce was returned or destroyed after being found to contain an excessive amounts of the preservative thiamine dilaurylsulfate, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The 162 kilograms of soy sauce contained 0.04 grams per kilogram of thiamine dilaurylsulfate, over the legal amount of 0.01 g/kg, said Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘), director of the FDA's Northern Taiwan Management Center

The importer, Zhong Xin International Development Co., Ltd., has been subject to 100 percent sampling of its spice and condiment imports after a previous shipment of black pepper from Vietnam was found to contain the banned Sudan dye, Liu said.

The company's imports will continue to be subject to batch-by-batch inspections, he said.

Meanwhile, two batches of carbonated beverages totaling 7,920 kg that were imported from Vietnam were found to contain phosphoric acid, a banned additive.

The importer, Golden Roentgen Limited Company, will now face enhanced inspection rates of 20-50 percent, Liu said.

The TFDA on Tuesday announced a total of 13 imports intercepted at the borders for noncompliance with Taiwan's relevant laws, including frozen spanner crabs from Thailand, coriander from Malaysia, mushrooms from the Netherlands, and cinnamon powder and white radishes from China.