Vietnamese rice batch rejected over pesticide residue

Taipei, May 19 (CNA) A 75,000-kilogram shipment of imported Vietnamese black rice was blocked at the border after pesticide residue was detected, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

The batch was found to contain 0.04 parts per million (ppm) of oxolinic acid, the TFDA said in its weekly report on imported food and product safety.

Under Taiwan's Standards for Pesticide Residue Limits in Foods, oxolinic acid must not be detectable in rice, with the limit of quantification set at 0.02 ppm.

Between Nov. 11, 2025 and May 11, 2026, seven of the 38 Vietnamese brown rice shipments submitted for inspection failed to meet Taiwan's standards, all due to pesticide residue violations, the TFDA said.

That represented a non-compliance rate of 18.4 percent, the agency said.

As rice is a staple food, all imported rice is subject to a 100 percent inspection rate, which will remain unchanged, according to the TFDA.

In a separate case, a 1.2-kilogram shipment of Japanese blueberries was found to contain 0.06 ppm of pyribencarb, a fungicide not permitted to be detected.

The blueberry shipment will be returned or destroyed, and the importer will remain subject to a 100 percent inspection rate, the agency said.

In addition, six other products, including frozen pea shoots from China and fresh fennel bulbs from Italy, were found to be non-compliant and will all be returned or destroyed.