Taiwan detains US fruit, Chinese agri produce for pesticides and fungicides

Large shipments of avocados, grapefruit and apples imported from the United States were recently seized at Taiwan's border after being found to contain excessive levels of pesticides and other contaminants, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday, CNA reports.

The American fruits were among 20 products listed in this week's FDA report on imported shipments confiscated for food safety violations.

A shipment of 1,980 kilograms of American avocados imported by Costco Taiwan was seized after the testing of samples on April 2 found them to contain the heavy metal cadmium at a concentration of 0.36 milligrams per kilogram, 7.2 times the 0.05 mg/kg legal limit, the report said.

Meanwhile, separate shipments of 18,900 kg of Florida grapefruit and 21,471 kg of American apples were confiscated for excessive fungicide residues, the FDA said.

Among other violations reported this week, a 10,192 kg shipment of fresh grapes from India was found to contain the insecticide fipronil at a concentration of 0.011 parts per million, eleven times the legal limit of 0.001 ppm, as well as 0.02 ppm of the prohibited insecticide cyantraniliprole.

From China, meanwhile, shipments of 19,590 kg of red dates, 24,900 kg of dried green mung beans and 25,000 kg of fresh pumpkin were seized for overly-high concentrations of various fungicides, the FDA said.

This week's report also listed the seizure of three shipments of dried porcini mushrooms, ranging in size from 6-15 kg and imported from Bulgaria, France and China, for excessive pesticide residues.

According to the FDA, the seized products were either returned to their country of origin or destroyed.