TAIPEI (TVBS News) — The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering easing a ban on two types of pesticides — chlorfenapyr, and flonicamid — used on strawberries imported from Japan in response to a frequent request made by the Japan-Taiwan Exchange Association.
Due to Japan's weather and environmental conditions, chlorfenapyr and flonicamid are used to grow strawberries. However, these pesticides are not authorized for use on strawberries in Taiwan, resulting in almost weekly excessive pesticide residue tests for strawberries from Japan.
"It is now under the related administrative process, the standards for the pesticide residue limits will be announced once the sign-off is completed," said FDA Director General Shou-Mei Wu on Wednesday (May 3). "Only after collecting public feedback under a designated timeframe will the new rule take effect, and a notice will be made within two weeks at the earliest."
Doctor Fang Yu-Wei from Shin Kong Memorial Hospital has stated that pesticides "are already widely used in Taiwan and will not affect human bodies without a large amount of usage. An intake of a higher dose at one time will impact liver function."
Despite this, the FDA will require additional safety measures and data evaluation before deciding to ease the ban on strawberries from Japan.
