Taipei, May 24 (CNA) A shipment of instant noodles imported from South Korea was recently seized at Taiwan's border, after it was found to contain a banned pesticide, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday.
The 1,400-kilogram shipment of noodles was confiscated after sample testing on March 24 detected 0.368 parts per million (ppm) of the pesticide ethylene oxide in the seasoning sachets that are included in the noodle packets, the FDA said.
Ethylene oxide, a widely used industrial product, is banned in foods in Taiwan and other countries, as it is classified as a first-class carcinogen. Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer and cause central nervous or peripheral neuropathy, according to the FDA.
The FDA said the contaminated shipment of spicy chicken curry-flavored noodles was produced by Samyang Foods Co. of South Korea and imported into Taiwan by Taipei-based Korea Trading Co.
The noodles will either be returned to the country of origin or destroyed, according to the FDA, which on Tuesday published a list of 11 imported items that had recently failed safety inspections.
Among them, a 600 kg shipment of Shoum Shoum-branded noodles from Myanmar was found to contain excessive levels of benzoic acid, which is used as a preservative in foods, according to the FDA.
Other imports recently confiscated included fresh blueberries from Japan, dried broad beans from Indonesia, and fresh chestnuts from China, all of which were found to contained excessive levels of pesticides, the FDA said.
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