Several shipments imported broccoli from Thailand and Vietnam recently failed Customs inspections because they were found to contain excessive levels of either heavy metal or pesticide residues. According to the latest report on substandard food imports, the FDA said a total of 13 shipments had been rejected recently at Customs.
They included one batch of broccoli from Thailand and two from Vietnam, which exceeded the safety levels for residues of heavy metals, the FDA said. Another shipment of the same vegetable from Vietnam was found to contain high levels of pesticide residues, the FDA added.
In lights of those findings, it said, Taiwan Customs will step up its checks of food products brought in by the four importers of the broccoli, from the basic 2-10 percent to about 20-50 percent.
