A random inspection of 55 hotpot ingredients resulted in 10 failing the tests as they contained excessive pesticide residues, preservatives or aflatoxin, the Taipei Department of Health said yesterday.
Department chief secretary Chiu Hsiu-yi (邱秀儀) said that with weather turning cooler, the department last month conducted random tests of hotpot ingredients — a popular fare especially during winter in Taiwan.
The 55 items were: 15 types of vegetables that are at a higher risk of containing pesticide residues, 15 frozen hotpot processed foods, 10 meat products, five seafood items, five soybean products and five peanut powder.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
They were tested for veterinary drug residues, animal ingredients, heavy metal substances, pesticide residues, food additives and fungal toxins, she said.
Five vegetables (three bok choy and two scallions) were found with pesticide residue levels exceeding maximum residue levels (MRLs), two peanut powder items had excessive levels of aflatoxins and three tofu products contained the preservative benzoic acid, Lee said
Most of the items that failed the inspections were taken from hotpot restaurants: bok choy from a Mo-Mo-Paradise branch contained three types of pesticides exceeding the MRLs; a peanut powder provided by Tian La Ma La (天辣麻辣) hotpot restaurant had excessive levels of aflatoxins; and a tofu from a Xin Dian Hotpot (辛殿麻辣鍋) contained benzoic acid, department data showed.
The items have been removed from the shelves and the department has notified its counterparts in other cities and counties where some of the items were produced.
As two of the three tofu items had no labels indicating where they were sourced, the two restaurants were each fined NT$30,000 (US$976).
“We urge farmers to use pesticides appropriately to reduce the risk of excessive residues,” Lee said. “We also encourage consumers to buy seasonal fruit and vegetables and wash them with running water, especially the roots and the stems, soak them for about 10 to 20 minutes and wash them again with running water before cooking, preferably with the pot not covered.”
Aflatoxins are toxic secondary metabolites produced by certain fungi that are often found in agricultural crops, such as peanuts, corn, rice, oat and nuts, and Taiwan’s high humidity and temperatures are conducive to their reproduction, so consumers should buy such products from reputable brands, check if their packaging is intact and store them in a dry place after opening, she said.
While benzoic acid is a legal food preservative, they cannot be used in soybean products, such as tofu, frozen tofu and soymilk, Lee said.
Excessive intake of the substance may cause diarrhea, abdominal pain and a rapid heartbeat, but it is soluble in water, so drinking plenty of water can help flush it out of the system, she said.
Foreign tourists who purchase a seven-day Taiwan Pass are to get a second one free of charge as part of a government bid to boost tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. A pair of Taiwan Passes is priced at NT$5,000 (US$156.44), an agency staff member said, adding that the passes can be used separately. The pass can be used in many of Taiwan’s major cities and to travel to several tourist resorts. It expires seven days after it is first used. The pass is a three-in-one package covering the high-speed rail system, mass rapid transport (MRT) services and the Taiwan Tourist Shuttle services,
Drinking a lot of water or milk would not help a person who has ingested terbufos, a toxic chemical that has been identified as the likely cause of three deaths, a health expert said yesterday. An 83-year-old woman surnamed Tseng (曾) and two others died this week after eating millet dumplings with snails that Tseng had made. Tseng died on Tuesday and others ate the leftovers when they went to her home to mourn her death that evening. Twelve people became ill after eating the dumplings following Tseng’s death. Their symptoms included vomiting and convulsions. Six were hospitalized, with two of them
DIVA-READY: The city’s deadline for the repairs is one day before pop star Jody Chiang is to perform at the Taipei Dome for the city’s Double Ten National Day celebrations The Taipei City Government has asked Farglory Group (遠雄集團) to repair serious water leaks in the Taipei Dome before Friday next week, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said yesterday, following complaints that many areas at the stadium were leaking during two baseball games over the weekend. The dome on Saturday and Sunday hosted two games in tribute to CTBC Brothers’ star Chou Szu-chi (周思齊) ahead of his retirement from the CPBL. The games each attracted about 40,000 people, filling the stadium to capacity. However, amid heavy rain, many people reported water leaking on some seats, at the entrance and exit areas, and the
BIG collection: The herbarium holds more than 560,000 specimens, from the Japanese colonial period to the present, including the Wulai azalea, which is now extinct in the wild The largest collection of plant specimens in Taiwan, the Taipei Botanical Garden’s herbarium, is celebrating its 100th anniversary with an exhibition that opened on Friday. The herbarium provides critical historical documents for botanists and is the first of its kind in Taiwan, Taiwan Forestry Research Institute director Tseng Yen-hsueh (曾彥學) said. It is housed in a two-story red brick building, which opened during 1924. At the time, it stored 30,000 plant specimens from almost 6,000 species, including Taiwanese plant samples collected by Tomitaro Makino, the “father of Japanese botany,” Tseng said. The herbarium collection has grown in the century since its