New Taipei City sampled two school lunch boxes for residual pesticides

The New Taipei City Government’s Health Bureau announced the results of the first quarter’s random inspections of food from campus meal box (bucket) factories and cooperatives. Nine out of 156 items did not meet hygiene standards, with a non-compliance rate of 5.76%. After making improvements within a specified period, all items passed the re-inspection. In March, a second round of random inspections of vegetables and fruits were conducted on 9 items from campus catering companies. 2 items were found to have excessive pesticide residues, with a failure rate of 22%.

The public is concerned about pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables. The New Taipei City Health Bureau conducted surprise inspections on school lunch boxes and was particularly concerned about the pesticide residues in fruits and vegetables in the lunch boxes.

Lin Guanzhen, director of the Food and Drug Administration, said that the 156 items included 140 lunch boxes and bucket meals and 16 cooperative foods. The inspection items were Escherichia coli and coliform bacteria. Nine items were found to not meet the limit regulations, including seven from catering companies in New Taipei City and two from Taipei City. However, all passed the re-inspection.

As for the excessive pesticide residues, the bulk rapeseed from Baiyuan Food Co., Ltd. was found to have 0.86 ppm of oxamyl residues, and the bulk rapeseed from Guanwei Food Co., Ltd. was found to have 4.96 ppm of profenophos residues.

The two packages of bulk rapeseed were supplied by Liyuan Commercial Bank and Gaofeng Agricultural Products Enterprise, both located in Taipei City. We have sent a letter to the Taipei City Government's Health Bureau to follow up on the matter. They may be fined not less than NT$60,000 but not more than NT$6 million in accordance with Article 31, Paragraph 1 of the Food Sanitation Management Act for violating the provisions of Article 11, Paragraph 1, Item 5 of the Food Sanitation Management Act.

After receiving notification from the Health Bureau that the food failed the inspection, the Education Bureau immediately sent a letter to all schools requesting that they suspend the supply of the aforementioned ingredients, strengthen supervision of the source and safety of lunch ingredients, and implement independent management and inspection operations and abnormal lunch records. If the manufacturer violates the regulations or omissions, it must be handled in accordance with the contract to safeguard food hygiene and safety and the dining rights of students.

Lin Guanzhen said that "Ausaim" is a broad-acting carbamate nematicide that inhibits the activity of cholinesterase, while "Bufeisong" pesticide is easily absorbed by the human gastrointestinal tract. Mild symptoms include headache, dizziness, blurred vision, chest tightness, and nausea. High exposure can cause respiratory paralysis and even death.

The Department of Health calls on farmers to comply with relevant laws when using pesticides when growing fruits and vegetables. It also advises the public to choose products from merchants with a good reputation when purchasing fruits and vegetables, and to wash and peel them before eating or avoid eating the roots to reduce pesticide residues and ensure their own safety.