The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Wednesday said that it plans to relax restrictions on four pesticides commonly used in Japan on strawberries.
The measure is being taken in the wake of Japanese strawberry imports being frequently stopped during customs inspections at the border for failing to meet the nation’s pesticide residue standards.
As a result, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association asked the FDA to ease its ban on the four pesticides — acequinocyl, chlorfenapyr, flonicamid and mefentriflucon azole — when used on strawberries.
Photo: Wu Chun-feng, Taipei Times
The allowed chemical residual levels would be raised from zero to 1 part per million (ppm) for acequinocyl, to 0.5ppm for chlorfenapyr, to 0.7ppm for flonicamid and to 1.5ppm for mefentriflucon azole, the FDA said.
The drafted revisions to permissible residue levels of the pesticides on strawberries adopted by the agency were made public as an advanced notification on Wednesday, with public feedback to be gathered over a 60-day period.
The easing of the ban on the pesticide residues is expected to significantly clear obstacles for Japanese strawberry imports, which have been involved in multiple breaches since late last year.
On Jan. 9, the FDA imposed a one-month ban, its harshest penalty, on five Japanese strawberry suppliers after 10 out of 216 shipments, or 4.63 percent, failed border checks since November last year.
FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) told the Central News Agency that the decision was made after the agency evaluated the climate and environment conditions in Japan, and deemed the use of such chemicals to be proper.
In addition, requests to lift the level for permissible strawberry pesticides came not only from the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in 2020, but also German-owned chemical company BASF Taiwan in 2021 and the South Korean Mission in Taipei in 2022, Lin said.
Currently, the agency is collecting opinions, Lin said, adding that there is no schedule as to when the planned pesticide standard revisions would be enacted.
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
CAUTION: Based on intelligence from the nation’s security agencies, MOFA has cautioned Taiwanese travelers about heightened safety risks in China-friendly countries The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday urged Taiwanese to be aware of their safety when traveling abroad, especially in countries that are friendly to China. China in June last year issued 22 guidelines that allow its courts to try in absentia and sentence to death so-called “diehard” Taiwanese independence activists, even though Chinese courts have no jurisdiction in Taiwan. Late last month, a senior Chinese official gave closed-door instructions to state security units to implement the guidelines in countries friendly to China, a government memo and a senior Taiwan security official said, based on information gathered by Taiwan’s intelligence agency. The
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, said yesterday that it is looking to hire 8,000 people this year, at a time when the tech giant is expanding production capacity to maintain its lead over competitors. To attract talent, TSMC would launch a large-scale recruitment campaign on campuses across Taiwan, where a newly recruited engineer with a master’s degree could expect to receive an average salary of NT$2.2 million (US$60,912), which is much higher than the 2023 national average of NT$709,000 for those in the same category, according to government statistics. TSMC, which accounted for more than 60 percent
President William Lai (賴清德) should protect Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), and stop supporting domestic strife and discord, former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrote on Facebook yesterday. US President Donald Trump and TSMC on Monday jointly announced that the company would invest an additional US$100 billion over the next few years to expand its semiconductor manufacturing operations in the US. The TSMC plans have promoted concern in Taiwan that it would effectively lead to the chipmaking giant becoming Americanized. The Lai administration lacks tangible policies to address concerns that Taiwan might follow in Ukraine’s footsteps, Ma wrote. Instead, it seems to think it could
RSS