Taipei City: Inspection of Wholesale Market Vegetables and Fruits, Chili Peppers, Peas, and Spinach Show Higher Non-Compliance Rates

The Taipei City Market Administration Office today issued a press release stating that the Taipei City Government entrusts the Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation to operate and manage the first and second wholesale fruit and vegetable markets. To ensure the safety of fresh vegetables and fruits consumed by the public, pesticide residues are tested daily on fruits and vegetables entering the auction, and test results are completed and determined before the auction.

The Market Administration Office announced data on monitored vegetables and fruits in the wholesale market, with a total of 900 samples tested, including 838 compliant and 62 non-compliant. The main non-compliant items were chili peppers, peas, and spinach.

The Market Administration Office stated that all non-compliant vegetables and fruits in this inspection have been intercepted and discarded, totaling 8,172 kilograms, including enhanced inspections of high-risk agricultural products. The non-compliance of pesticide tests for this batch of vegetables and fruits is mainly related to the pesticide use habits in the production areas. Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation has been requested to strengthen guidance and promotion of safe pesticide use in production areas.

Regarding the main non-compliant vegetables and fruits in this inspection, the Market Administration Office stated that chili peppers are crops that Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation continues to strengthen inspections on, and the non-compliance rate has not significantly improved; peas were a strengthened inspection item for the current month; spinach is in season, with a large volume of incoming goods, so the number of samples tested was relatively high.

The Market Administration Office stated that if vegetables and fruits entering the wholesale market are found to be non-compliant after inspection, Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation will immediately prohibit trading and temporarily suspend the auction of the same type of vegetables and fruits from other supply codes of the supplier for that day. They can only be auctioned after re-inspection and found to be compliant. If found non-compliant, they will be discarded and destroyed, and their supply will be stopped according to regulations.

The Market Administration Office stated that to effectively utilize testing capacity, Taipei Agricultural Products Marketing Corporation will strengthen inspections of non-compliant vegetable and fruit items, feed back inspection results to agricultural administrative units, and notify violating suppliers to make improvements. At the same time, it will inform local agricultural competent authorities to conduct source pesticide use guidance, implement source management, and maintain food safety in the greater Taipei area. (Edited by Kuan Chung-wei) 1150409