Parents Beware! Japanese Infant Rice Snack Found with Heavy Metal Cadmium – TFDA Announces Enhanced Batch Inspection

On the 11th, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced the latest list of non-compliant items detected at border inspections, with a total of 13 items failing to meet standards. Among them, one batch of Japanese infant rice snacks imported by the company 'Yuiweiya Enterprise Co., Ltd.' was found to contain 0.067 mg/kg of cadmium, a heavy metal. According to the 'Hygienic Standards for Contaminants and Toxins in Food,' the limit for cadmium in infant cereal-based complementary foods is 0.040 mg/kg. As this batch exceeded the limit, it must be returned or destroyed. The TFDA has adjusted border inspection protocols for 'Yuiweiya Enterprise Co., Ltd.,' increasing the sampling inspection rate to between 20% and 50%.

Other non-compliant items identified in this round of border inspections include: cup lids exported from mainland China, bear-shaped plates from mainland China, cutting boards from mainland China, parsley powder from India, white rice from Vietnam, seaweed from Japan, mixed spice powder from Pakistan, dinner plates from mainland China, and peanut butter from Vietnam.

Several food containers and utensils imported from China were found to contain fluorescent whitening agents and excessive evaporation residues, requiring return or destruction. One batch of cup lids imported by 'Dengfeng Hotel Co., Ltd.' was found to contain fluorescent whitening agents. According to the 'Hygienic Standards for Food Utensils, Containers, and Packaging,' such agents must not be detected in paper products.

Additionally, two batches of cutting boards imported by 'Baoxing Marketing Management Consulting Co., Ltd.' showed evaporation residues of 73 ppm and 103 ppm in a solubility test using 4% acetic acid at 95°C for 30 minutes. According to regulations, plastic products made from polypropylene must have evaporation residues below 30 ppm under the same test conditions.

As a result, the TFDA has mandated 100% batch inspections for both 'Dengfeng Hotel Co., Ltd.' and 'Baoxing Marketing Management Consulting Co., Ltd.,' meaning every shipment will be inspected moving forward.