Taiwan destroys Sudan dye-tainted Indian parsley powder

Taipei, Dec. 9 (CNA) Taiwan has destroyed three metric tons of parsley powder imported from India after the product tested positive for Sudan I, a banned industrial dye, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The shipment was detected during border inspections and immediately destroyed, according to Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘), director of the TFDA's Northern Taiwan Management Center, in commenting on the weekly release of substandard imports intercepted at the border.

Liu did not say specifically when the shipment was detected, but TFDA data showed that between June 1 and Dec. 1, Taiwan inspected two batches of dried botanical spices imported from India, one of which failed due to the detection of Sudan dye.

According to Liu, the importer involved will now be subject to enhanced batch-by-batch inspections.

Separately, the TFDA has mandated 100 percent testing for Sudan dyes in dried spice plants from India since April 18, 2024, a measure that will remain in place through Nov. 26, 2026.

The parsley powder, imported by Taichung-based seasoning supplier Tomax Enterprise Co., was among 15 products listed as non-compliant in the TFDA's latest listing of items rejected at the border.

Other rejected items included guar gum from India, seasoning cubes from Indonesia, and white radishes from China, which were found to contain excessive pesticide residues or other violations.

All were ordered returned or destroyed.

In a separate case, a 0.4-kilogram batch of Ladurée-branded wax paper imported from France was barred entry after failing a solvent extraction test.

The product's evaporated residue measured 581 ppm, far above the regulatory limit of 30 ppm for waxed or pulp-based paper products designed to come into direct contact with food.

The TFDA said it was the first non-compliant batch of this product category from France in the past six months. The importer will now face stricter checks, with border sampling rates raised to 20-50 percent.

It was also the second consecutive week that a Tomax Enterprise import appeared on the non-compliance list. Last week, Vietnamese black pepper imported by the company was found to contain pesticide residues exceeding regulatory limits.