Customs officials have seized 6,400kg of live Chinese mitten crabs at the border after the batch was found to contain excess levels of dioxins, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday.
It was the first such seizure in two years, the agency said.
The crabs, imported by Shuo Hsuan International Trading Ltd, was found to contain dioxin at a level of 10.4 picograms per gram (pg/g) wet weight, and dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (DL-PCBs) of 10.8pg/g wet weight.
Photo courtesy of the Food and Drug Administration
The levels are much higher than the permissible level of dioxin at 3.5pg/g wet weight, and combined permissible total for dioxins and DL-PCBs at 6.5pg/g wet weight, FDA Northern Center head Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕) told reporters.
As part of its efforts to step up inspections at the source, the FDA indefinitely suspended applications for import inspections by the aquafarm in Shandong Province where the crabs came from, effective immediately.
Since October last year, the customs has rejected 25 shipments of mitten crabs from China as a result of batch-by-batch inspections at the border, Chen said.
RICE, MANDARINS
Also on the FDA’s 17-item list of seized items were white rice from India, mandarins from South Korea, sea urchin gastrulas from Mexico and fresh strawberries from Japan.
The substandard or polluted food shipments have been destroyed or returned to their country of origin, Chen said.
Last month, six shipments of fresh strawberries imported from Japan by Chuan Yong Fruit Co Ltd were found to contain two pesticides — flonicamid and cyantraniliprole, traces of which are not permitted in strawberries in Taiwan.
Imports of fresh Japanese strawberries have been subject to a 20 to 50 percent random inspection rate since early last year, when such shipments were frequently found to contain high levels of pesticide residue.
Taiwan’s passport ranked 34th in the world, with access to 141 visa-free destinations, according to the latest update to the Henley Passport Index released today. The index put together by Henley & Partners ranks 199 passports globally based on the number of destinations holders can access without a visa out of 227, and is updated monthly. The 141 visa-free destinations for Taiwanese passport holders are a slight decrease from last year, when holders had access to 145 destinations. Botswana and Columbia are among the countries that have recently ended visa-free status for Taiwanese after “bowing to pressure from the Chinese government,” the Ministry
Theaters and institutions in Taiwan have received 28 threatening e-mails, including bomb threats, since a documentary critical of China began being screened across the nation last month, the National Security Bureau said yesterday. The actions are part of China’s attempts to undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty, it said. State Organs (國有器官) documents allegations that Chinese government officials engage in organ harvesting and other illegal activities. From last month to Friday last week, 28 incidents have been reported of theaters or institutions receiving threats, including bomb and shooting threats, if they did not stop showing the documentary, the bureau said. Although the threats were not carried out,
HEALTHCARE: Following a 2022 Constitutional Court ruling, Taiwanese traveling overseas for six months would no longer be able to suspend their insurance Measures allowing people to suspend National Health Insurance (NHI) services if they plan to leave the country for six months would be abolished starting Dec. 23, NHIA Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said yesterday. The decision followed the Constitutional Court’s ruling in 2022 that the regulation was unconstitutional and that it would invalidate the regulation automatically unless the NHIA amended it to conform with the Constitution. The agency would amend the regulations to remove the articles and sections that allow the suspension of NHI services, and also introduce provisional clauses for those who suspended their NHI services before Dec. 23, Shih said. According to
‘GRAY ZONE’ TACTICS: China continues to build up its military capacity while regularly deploying jets and warships around Taiwan, with the latest balloon spotted on Sunday The US is drawing up contingency plans for military deployments in Japan and the Philippines in case of a Taiwan emergency, Japan’s Kyodo news agency reported. They would be incorporated in a first joint operation plan to be formulated in December, Kyodo reported late on Sunday, citing sources familiar with Japan-US relations. A US Marine Corps regiment that possesses High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems — a light multiple rocket launcher — would be deployed along the Nansei Island chain stretching from Kyushu to Yonaguni near Taiwan, Kyodo said. According to US military guidelines for dispatching marines in small formations to several locations,
RSS