Taipei: Nearly 10 percent of 877 fruits, vegetables, and agricultural products selected for pesticide residue tests in March and April were non-compliant, Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Monday.

According to Focus Taiwan, the 82 non-compliant products, or 9.4 percent of the total, included strawberries imported from Japan and roses imported from Iran. The tests were part of the TFDA’s pesticide residue monitoring program, covering 611 samples chosen for enhanced monitoring, of which 79 samples did not meet regulatory standards, as well as 266 randomly selected samples, with three found to be non-compliant.

Among the non-compliant items, strawberries imported from Japan were found to contain 1.13 ppm of isopyrazam, a pesticide that is not allowed, and the importer received a fine of NT$60,000 (US$2013), said TFDA Southern Center Director Wei Jen-ting. Another batch of strawberries imported by the same importer during the March-April monitoring period was found with 0.19 ppm of spirotetramat, another pesticide not permitted in strawberries, according to Wei. Due to it being the importer’s second violation, an increased fine of NT$120,000 was imposed.

Also on the non-compliant list were roses imported from Iran, found to contain 0.15 ppm of cypermethrin, a pesticide not authorized for use in the product, according to Wei. Additionally, white fungus imported from China contained 0.32 ppm of imidacloprid, violating usage regulations.

In a domestic case, cilantro taken from a local restaurant was found to contain 0.02 ppm each of chlorpyrifos and ethion, neither of which are allowed in the spice. Wei added that this case is under further investigation.