Taipei Finds Pesticide Violations in 9 of 58 Fruit and Vegetable Samples; Basil Accounts for 4 Cases

Taipei, 19th - The Taipei City Department of Health announced today that during March, it tested 58 samples of fresh fruits and vegetables for pesticide residues, with 9 samples failing to meet regulations, resulting in a non-compliance rate of 15.5%. The non-compliant products included 4 samples of basil, and one sample each of chives, cilantro, green beans, Thai chili, and white radish. Each was found to have 1 to 2 types of pesticide residues that did not comply with the "Pesticide Residue Allowance Standard." The Department of Health explained that the aforementioned violations fall under the Food Safety and Sanitation Management Act regarding "residual pesticide or veterinary drug content exceeding safety tolerance levels," which can result in fines for the responsible business operators ranging from NT$60,000 to NT$200 million. If the source cannot be identified, the vendor can be fined from NT$30,000 to NT$3 million. The department stated that it has ordered the removal of the products from sale at the sampling locations. After tracing the product sources to other counties and cities, the cases have been transferred to the respective local health bureaus for legal action.