TAIPEI – Several imported food items, including tea and coffee beans, were blocked at Taiwan’s borders recently, after they were found to contain excessive residues of pesticide and other contaminants, the country’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.
The 23 items that failed safety inspection included a 3-kilogram shipment of green tea powder from Japan, branded as Maccha, which was imported by Taipei-based Sunrise Logistics Co., Central news agency (CAN) quoting the FDA as saying.
The tea was found to contain 0.08 parts per million (ppm) of the insecticide thiacloprid, in excess of the maximum allowed residue level of 0.05 ppm, the FDA said.
Another tea product, Jonetsu Kakaku green tea leaves, also imported from Japan by the same company, was found to contain residues of the pesticide flubendiamide, which is banned in Taiwan, the FDA said.
A shipment of 200 kg of Kaldi-branded coffee beans from Japan, which originated in Brazil, also failed safety inspection at Taiwan’s border because of excessive pesticide residues, according to the FDA.
Among the other food products recently denied entry to Taiwan were fresh oysters from Vietnam and black tea from India, Vietnam and Germany, due to excessive levels of pesticide and heavy metals, the FDA said.
It said a shipment of plastic food containers from China was also rejected because of high levels of a bleaching agent.
The rejected products will either be destroyed or returned to the countries of origin, the FDA said.
Widespread use
There are more than 1000 pesticides used around the world to ensure food is not damaged or destroyed by pests. Each pesticide has different properties and toxicological effects.
Many of the older, cheaper (off-patent) pesticides, such as dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) and lindane, can remain for years in soil and water. These chemicals have been banned by countries who signed the 2001 Stockholm Convention – an international treaty that aims to eliminate or restrict the production and use of persistent organic pollutants.
The toxicity of a pesticide depends on its function and other factors. For example, insecticides tend to be more toxic to humans than herbicides. The same chemical can have different effects at different doses (how much of the chemical a person is exposed to). It can also depend on the route by which the exposure occurs (such as swallowing, inhaling, or direct contact with the skin).
None of the pesticides that are authorized for use on food in international trade today are genotoxic (damaging to DNA, which can cause mutations or cancer). Adverse effects from these pesticides occur only above a certain safe level of exposure. When people come into contact with large quantities of pesticide, this may cause acute poisoning or long-term health effects, including cancer and adverse effects on reproduction.
The United Nations Population Division estimates that, by the year 2050, there will be 9.7 billion people on Earth – around 30% more people than in 2017. Nearly all of this population growth will occur in developing countries.
The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that, in developing countries, 80% of the necessary increases in food production keep pace with population growth are projected to come from increases in yields and the number of times per year crops can be grown on the same land. Only 20% of new food production is expected to come from expansion of farming land.
Pesticides can prevent large crop losses and will therefore continue to play a role in agriculture. However, the effects on humans and the environment of exposure to pesticides are a continuing concern.
The use of pesticides to produce food, both to feed local populations and for export, should comply with good agricultural practices regardless of the economic status of a country. Farmers should limit the amount of pesticide used to the minimum necessary to protect their crops.
It is also possible, under certain circumstances, to produce food without the use of pesticides.
