Famous Singaporean Ice Cream Paper Tray Intercepted for Fluorescent Whitening Agent

The Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare today announced the latest list of unqualified products from border inspections, with a total of 5 items failing inspections, including Egyptian fenugreek and Indonesian jasmine tea, due to non-compliance with preservative content and pesticide residue limits, which will be returned or destroyed as per regulations.

Among the non-compliant products this time, a famous ice cream brand that just set up a branch in Taiwan from Singapore in March was also on the list. The 'paper trays' imported by the company from mainland China were detected with fluorescent whitening agents. A total of 1 batch, 5.8 kilograms, will be returned or destroyed as per regulations.

Liu Fang-ming, director of the Northern Management Center, told the media that according to the 'Sanitation Standard for Food Utensils, Containers and Packaging,' for paper products whose direct contact surface with food is wax or pulp, fluorescent whitening agents are 'not to be detected.' This is the first violation for this company in the past six months, and border inspections will be adjusted to enhanced batch inspections, with a sampling ratio of 20% to 50%.

As for the overall products of the same origin and same item number imported from China, a total of 3 batches have accumulated violations in the past 6 months. Liu Fang-ming said that this part will also be adjusted to enhanced batch inspections, with the control period until May 6 this year.

In addition, 'squid' imported from Japan by another company was detected with heavy metal cadmium exceeding the limit of 2 mg/kg. According to the 'Sanitation Standard for Contaminants and Toxins in Food,' the limit for cadmium in cephalopods (excluding internal organs) is 1 mg/kg. A total of 1 batch, 3 kilograms, will be returned or destroyed.

Liu Fang-ming said that in the past six months, 3 batches of squid imported from Japan have failed inspections, and this company accounted for 2 of them. For this reporting company, inspections will be adjusted to batch-by-batch inspections, with a sampling ratio of 100%. In the past 6 months, 275 batches of the same origin and same item number were reported, with a total net weight of 8.58 metric tons, 3 batches failed inspections, and the unqualified weight was 0.06 metric tons, maintaining general batch inspections. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150407