Import of Sushi Express sea urchin roe halted over cadmium levels

Taipei, April 28 (CNA) A batch of sea urchin roe from Canada imported by chain restaurant Sushi Express Co., Ltd. was halted at the border for containing excessive amounts of cadmium, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The 26.4 kilogram batch of sea urchin roe was found to contain 0.5 mg/kg of cadmium, exceeding the legal limit of 0.3 mg/kg, meaning it must be destroyed or returned, said Liu Fang-ming (劉芳銘), director of the TFDA's Northern Taiwan Management Center.

Liu said that this was the first batch of substandard imports by Sushi Express in the past six months, and that inspection rates on the company's imports will be increased from between 2 and 10 percent to between 20 and 50 percent.

Meanwhile, inspection rates on products of the same tariff code from the same source country will remain at 2 to 10 percent, with this being the first violation for the past six months, he said.

The TFDA also reported the discovery of banned toxic dye Sudan Red III in a batch of dried chili from China. The 1,000-kg shipment will be destroyed, Liu said.

According to TFDA data, a total of 76 batches of dried chili from China had been inspected at the borders over the past six months, with three of those batches (4 percent) not complying with Taiwan's standards, Of the three, one was flagged for excessive pesticides and two for containing Sudan Red dyes.

The TFDA has maintained batch-by-batch inspections of dried chilis from China, a measure that will be extended to April 22, 2027, due to the recent violation, Liu said.

The TFDA also listed four other noncompliant shipments, including fresh melons from Japan, olive oil from Spain, as well as sweet osmanthus and sodium bicarbonate from China, found with excessive pesticides or additives.