New Taipei City's sample inspection of vegetables and fruits found that 30% of them violated the pesticide regulations

The New Taipei City Government's Health Bureau randomly sampled fresh fruits and vegetables on the market in August and found that 6 out of 20 items were found to have excessive amounts of pesticide residues, with a failure rate of about 30%. The Health Bureau immediately sent inspectors to return to the site to confirm that there were no products from the same batch, and referred the case to the source, the Taipei City Health Bureau, for follow-up. According to the provisions of Article 11, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Food Sanitation Management Act, a fine of not less than NT$60,000 but not more than NT$6 million may be imposed in accordance with Article 31, Paragraph 1 of the same Act for violating the provisions of the same act.

The New Taipei City Government Health Bureau randomly sampled fresh fruits and vegetables on the market in August and found that 6 out of 20 items were found to have excessive amounts of pesticide residues, with a failure rate of about 30%. (Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Health Bureau)

Lin Guanzhen, director of the Food and Drug Administration Division of the Department of Health, said that the sampling sites included fruit and vegetable packaging sites, vegetable stalls and supermarkets. The soybeans and cucumbers at the "PX Welfare Center" were found to have residual pesticides of 0.16ppm of "Lufenuron" and 0.02ppm of "Tetraconazole" respectively; the cucumbers at Weng Kee Agricultural Products Co., Ltd. were also found to have excessive residues of 0.05ppm of "Thiamethoxam". The sources of these three items were all "Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Co., Ltd.". The Department of Health has asked the source, the Taipei City Health Bureau, to investigate.

The "Amaranth" and "Small Beans" sold at the "Sanchong Fruit and Vegetable Market" were found to contain pesticide residues of 0.02ppm of "Clothianidin" and 0.08ppm of "Carbofuran" respectively; the "Sweet Peppers" sold by the "Wellcome Department Store Co., Ltd. Xinzhuang Branch 2" were also found to contain excessive residues of 0.335ppm of "Difenoconazole". The products were sourced from Taoyuan County, Nantou County and Changhua County respectively, and the case has been referred to the health bureau of the source country for investigation.

The "Amaranth" and "Small Beans" sold at the "Sanchong Fruit and Vegetable Market" were found to have residual pesticides of 0.02ppm of "clonidin" and 0.08ppm of "caproic acid" respectively. (Photo courtesy of New Taipei City Health Bureau)

Lin Guanzhen emphasized that "Lufenlong" and "Sesoan" are low-toxic insecticides that can be excreted from the body through urine or feces; "Sacral" is a fungicide that will not accumulate in the human body according to research, but long-term low-dose exposure may cause damage to the liver:

"Clonidine" is a metabolite of the above-mentioned "Sesolan" and can be excreted from the body; "Carbofuran" is a broad-spectrum insecticide that may cause discomfort such as headache, dizziness, nausea, cramps or diarrhea; "Toxic" is a fungicide that is non-toxic to animals, plants and other wild animals.

The Department of Health advises the public to choose fruit and vegetables with safety labels when purchasing fruit and vegetables, and try to buy seasonal fruit and vegetables. Before eating, it is recommended to wash the fruit repeatedly with clean water, peel it or avoid eating the roots to reduce pesticide residues and ensure safety.