3,400 kg of Indonesian snacks fail checks over sweeteners, aflatoxins

Taipei, Feb. 10 (CNA) Taiwan has blocked more than 3,400 kilograms of Indonesian snack products at the border after they were found to contain illegal sweeteners and excessive levels of aflatoxins, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

Six of the 19 non-compliant items were Indonesian-made banana chips, cassava chips and coated peanuts, with a total of 3,406 kilograms. All the items have been ordered returned or destroyed, the TFDA said in its weekly report.

Tsai Chia-fen (蔡佳芬), deputy director of the TFDA's Northern Taiwan Management Center, said five batches of banana and cassava chips imported by one company were found to contain saccharin and cyclamate, which are not permitted for use in those products.

Another importer's coated peanuts were found to contain aflatoxin B1 at 158 micrograms per kilogram and total aflatoxins at 233 µg/kg. Under Taiwan's food safety standards, aflatoxin B1 in ready-to-eat peanuts and related products is capped at 2 µg/kg, with total aflatoxins limited to 4 µg/kg, Tsai said.

The TFDA said it inspected 698 batches of Indonesian biscuits and snacks over the past six months, from Aug. 2, 2025, to Feb. 2 this year. Seventeen batches failed inspection, a non-compliance rate of 2.4 percent, mainly due to preservatives, sweeteners and aflatoxins.

As a result, the TFDA has made inspections of all batches of imported Indonesian biscuits 100 mandatory beginning Jan. 13 through to March 9, Tsai said.

Other noncompliant products included shiso leaves from Japan and frozen shepherd's purse from China due to pesticide residues or other violations. All were either returned or destroyed and did not enter the market.