Taiwan authorities say they are unaware of a Japanese importer recalling 750 boxes of Taiwanese bananas after it was found to have excessive levels of fungicide.

Wismettac, a Japanese food exporter and importer, announced on Wednesday they would have to send back 750 boxes of Taiwanese bananas because they had detected 0.12 parts per million of the fungicide Pyraclostrobin — six times the maximum level of 0.02 ppm — in the shipment. Apple Daily Taiwan sent inquiries to the Council of Agriculture, including the Agriculture and Food Agency and the Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine on Saturday regarding the recall. All three parties said they did not have any relevant information on the incident, and did not confirm nor deny the report.

The inspection and quarantine bureau told Apple Daily Taiwan that both Japan and Taiwan had set the maximum level of Pyraclostrobin at 0.02 ppm, while the Agriculture and Food Agency said that the fungicide was mainly used to reduce the growth of black spots on the skin of the banana.

The recall comes after Taiwanese Minister of Agriculture Chen Chi-chung announced on Thursday that Taiwanese bananas, pineapples, mangos and dragon fruits had received a nod of approval from the Tokyo Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Chen said on Facebook that the fruits had attained the Taiwan Good Agricultural Practice 2020 Plus, a quality standard certifying the fruits are sustainably grown and are also equivalent to the corresponding verification schemes in Japan. Such an achievement means the fruits are safe to be consumed during the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.

Taiwan has recently ramped up its fruit exports both locally and overseas after mainland China banned imports of pineapples from the island since March 1, citing the discovery of pests in shipments. Mainland China had accounted for more than 90 percent of Taiwan’s exports of pineapples in 2019.

The self-ruled island earlier announced that they would export a record 5,000 tonnes of pineapples to Japan this year, or 2.3 times that of last year’s at 2,160 tonnes.

Click here for Chinese version

---------------------------------

Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE

To download the latest version,

iOS: bit.ly/AD_iOS

Android: bit.ly/AD_android

Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play