Strawberries that failed to meet pesticide residue standards during border checks in late December are seen in this photo released on Jan. 16 by the Food and Drug Administration on its website.
Taipei, Jan. 24 (CNA) The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Wednesday it plans to relax restrictions on four pesticides commonly used in Japan on strawberry crops.
The measure was taken in the wake of Japanese strawberry imports being frequently stopped during customs inspections at Taiwan's border for failing to meet the nation's pesticide residue standards.
As a result, the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association, the South Korean Mission in Taipei, and BASF Taiwan asked Taiwan to ease its ban on the four pesticides, namely acequinocyl, chlorfenapyr, flonicamid, and mefentriflucon azole, when used on strawberries.
According to the administration, the allowed chemical residual levels will be raised from zero to 1.0 parts per million (ppm) for acequinocyl, to 0.5 ppm for chlorfenapyr, to 0.7 ppm for flonicamid, and to 1.5 ppm for mefentriflucon azole.
The drafted revisions to permissible residue levels of the pesticides on strawberries adopted by the agency was made public as an advanced notification 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 reported multiple violations since late last year.
On Jan. 9, the TFDA imposed a one-month ban, its harshest penalty, on five Japanese strawberry suppliers after 10 out of 216 shipments from the neighboring country, or 4.63 percent, failed border checks since November 2023.
TFDA Deputy Director-General Lin Chin-fu (林金富) told CNA that the decision was made after the agency evaluated the climate and environment conditions in Japan and deemed such chemical to be proper.
In addition, requests to lift the level for permissible strawberry pesticides came not only the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association in 2020, but also German-headquartered chemical company BASF Taiwan in 2021 and the South Korean Mission in Taipei in 2022, Lin said.
Currently, the agency is collecting public opinions, Lin said, adding that there is no schedule as to when the planned pesticide standard revisions will be enacted.
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