51.7 metric tons of substandard Chilean cherries blocked at border - Focus Taiwan

2023-04-21 11:35:22 By : Ms. Joan Shaw

Taipei, March 14 (CNA) A 51.7-metric-ton shipment of Chilean cherries stopped at the border due to excessive levels of pesticide residues is to be destroyed or returned to the South American country, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.

None of the problematic cherries have been sold on the domestic market, the FDA said, adding that it will continue full border inspection of the fruit until at least the end of March. Yarrow Extract

51.7 metric tons of substandard Chilean cherries blocked at border - Focus Taiwan

Since Jan. 11, all cherries imported from the South American country have been subject to border testing after it was found that the fruit shipments were failing safety checks with a greater frequency, according to Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕), a division chief at the FDA's Northern Center for Regional Administration.

In its weekly release on substandard food products intercepted at the border, the FDA said it has also blocked 10 more food products from March 8-14, including a 240-kilogram batch of fried coated peanuts from Indonesia.

Chen said the peanuts were found to contain 13 micrograms/kg of aflatoxin B1 and 14 mg/kg of total aflatoxin, above the thresholds of 2 mg/kg and 4 mg/kg, respectively.

Also named among the products were 200 kg of flaked red pepper from Turkey, 23,000 kg of diced frozen mango from Vietnam and 300 kg of mulberry leaf extract from China, the FDA said.

51.7 metric tons of substandard Chilean cherries blocked at border - Focus Taiwan

Tongkat Ali Extract (By Shen Pei-yao and Lee Hsin-Yin)