Over 75,000 kg of Imported Black Brown Rice and Blueberries Intercepted for Containing Banned Pesticides

(CNA, Taipei, May 19, by reporter Shen Pei-yao) Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced its latest border inspection results, where one batch of imported black brown rice from Vietnam was found to contain residual pesticide oxolinic acid, and another batch of blueberries from Japan contained the fungicide pyribencarb. Both violate regulations stating they should not be detected, and over 75,000 kilograms were intercepted and prevented from entering the market. The Ministry of Health and Welfare's TFDA today routinely released information on non-compliant food products from border inspections, with a total of 8 unqualified items. These included frozen pea sprouts from mainland China and fresh fennel from Italy, which were found to have excessive pesticide residues or other non-compliant conditions. All were returned or destroyed. Liu Fang-ming, Director of the TFDA's Northern Center, told the media that this time, one batch of "black brown rice" imported from Vietnam was found to contain 0.04 ppm of the residual pesticide oxolinic acid. However, according to the "Pesticide Residue Allowance Standard," oxolinic acid should not be detected in rice and must be below the method's limit of quantification of 0.02 ppm. A total of 75,000 kilograms were returned or destroyed as per regulations. According to TFDA statistics for the past six months, from November 11, 2025, to May 11, 2026, 38 batches of brown rice from Vietnam were reported for inspection, with 7 batches failing, an non-compliance rate of 18.4%. The reason for failure was non-compliant pesticide residues. Liu said that since rice is a staple food for the nation, starting from January 1, 2015, in coordination with agricultural authorities, all imported rice from various countries undergoes surveillance inspection at the border with a 100% inspection rate, which is not lowered even if the number of compliant batches meets the threshold. Additionally, a batch of fresh blueberries from Japan was found to contain 0.06 ppm of the fungicide pyribencarb. According to regulations, it should also not be detected and must be below the method's limit of quantification of 0.01 ppm. A total of 1.2 kilograms must be returned or destroyed at the border. Liu stated that for this reporting business, lot-by-lot inspection is maintained at the border, with a 100% sampling rate. (Editor: Lung Po-an) 1150519