Taipei: Taiwan has destroyed three metric tons of parsley powder imported from India after the product tested positive for Sudan I, a banned industrial dye, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced. The shipment was detected during routine border inspections and was immediately destroyed, as confirmed by Liu Fang-ming, director of the TFDA's Northern Taiwan Management Center. This action was part of the TFDA's weekly release of substandard imports intercepted at the border.
According to Focus Taiwan, Liu did not specify when the shipment was detected. However, TFDA data indicated that between June 1 and December 1, Taiwan inspected two batches of dried botanical spices from India, one of which was found to contain the Sudan dye. As a consequence, the importer involved will now be subjected to enhanced batch-by-batch inspections to prevent future occurrences.
The TFDA has also implemented a new directive requiring 100 percent testing for Sudan dyes in all dried spice plants from India starting April 18, 2024. This measure will remain effective until November 26, 2026. The parsley powder was imported by Taichung-based seasoning supplier Tomax Enterprise Co. and was among 15 non-compliant products listed in the TFDA's latest report.
Other rejected items in the report included guar gum from India, seasoning cubes from Indonesia, and white radishes from China, which were found to have excessive pesticide residues or other violations. All these products were either returned or destroyed as per regulatory guidelines.
In another incident, a 0.4-kilogram batch of Ladur©e-branded wax paper from France was denied entry after failing a solvent extraction test. The evaporated residue of the product was significantly above the regulatory limit for waxed or pulp-based paper products intended for direct food contact. The TFDA noted that it was the first non-compliant batch of this product category from France in the past six months, prompting stricter checks with increased border sampling rates.
This marks the second consecutive week that a Tomax Enterprise import has been listed for non-compliance. Last week, the company's Vietnamese black pepper was flagged for pesticide residues exceeding the allowed limits.
