Taiwan’s non-profit Consumer's Foundation has made clear that its latest pesticide residue testing conducted on 12 randomly chosen fresh vegetables resulted in a failure rate of 33.33 percent. Another 66.66 percent of produce labeled or advertised as "organic" was found to contain large amounts of pesticide residue.
The foundation said it purchased 12 vegetables in August 2023 at wet markets and traditional night markets in Taipei, New Taipei and Taichung. Those items were then tested for agricultural pesticide residue using a rapid pesticide screening method recommended by the Ministry of Health and Welfare.
The test results showed that of the 12 samples tested, four failed pesticide residue testing, including Ceylon spinach labeled as organic which failed testing for nine different types of pesticides and was found to have seven types of pesticide residue, which combined exceeded the maximum residue limits (MRLs) for non-organic produce by a factor of 2,017.
The foundation urged consumers to check whether vendors selling organic vegetables have a certificate indicating they have been certified to sell such produce and that it contains the name of the certification body and a registration number.
Source: focustaiwan.tw