A batch of paprika extract from India was found to contain Sudan IV, a dye banned in food in Taiwan, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. It is one of 13 imported food-related items that failed recent inspections.
A shipment of 200kg of paprika extract product named “Paprika Oleoresin 40,000 O/S Free Methanol” manufactured by Bos Natural Flavors Ltd in India was found to contain 14 parts per billion of Sudan IV, the FDA said, adding that the shipment was ordered to be destroyed.
Sudan reds are a group of industrial dyes classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer as Group 3 indirect carcinogens and are banned in food in Taiwan.
Photo: Chiu Chih-jou, Taipei Times
Several batches of imported chili powder have been found to contain Sudan reds since January, so the FDA on March 22 implemented stricter border inspection measures, including the destruction of all food products found to contain Sudan reds upon discovery.
Keelung-based Yih Yuan Food Co (億元食品) imported the batch of paprika extract, FDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said.
It is the first time an imported paprika product from the same origin country and bearing the same commodity classification code has failed a border inspection in six months, Lin said, adding that shipments of such products would be subject to batch-by-batch inspections until May 23 next year.
The latest seizure brought the number of food products containing Sudan reds that have been intercepted at the border to four since enhanced measures for the dyes was implemented in March, with the other three batches being chili powder from China, Lin said.
Other products that failed the most recent inspections include two batches of black pepper imported from Malaysia, a batch of dried green mung beans from Myanmar and a batch of fresh celery from Vietnam, all with excessive pesticide residues, the FDA said.
The list also included sweet potato crackers from Malaysia containing a banned sweetener, shrimp chips from Indonesia with preservatives in excess of allowable limits, deer placenta powder from Australia containing a preservative in excess of the permitted concentration and fresh mikan from Japan that tested positive for a banned pesticide, it said.
The other four items that failed border inspections were from China: frozen Brama japonica containing a heavy metal exceeding allowable levels, salted slender bamboo shoots and echinacea extract powder with preservatives in excess of permitted concentrations, and wooden tongs with a coating that failed dissolution tests, it added.
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