Cheng Hui-wen, director of the DOH Bureau of Food Safety, said the concentration of nitrofuran metabolites (substances that indicate use of the drug) detected ranged from 1.1 parts per billion (ppb) to 30 ppb.

The DOH notified the Bureau of Standards, Metrology and Inspection under the Ministry of Economic Affairs Aug. 22 to ban all Chinese shrimp imports, he continued.

According to Cheng, since the DOH increased the inspection rate of Chinese shrimp imports from 5 percent to 50 percent July 5, five shipments have been found to contain nitrofuran metabolites as of mid-August.

The DOH has also increased inspections of Chinese fish imports to 50 percent, although no problems have so far been found, Cheng said.

The use of nitrofuran drugs in food-producing animals has been banned in Taiwan and other countries because they pose a public health risk sparked by evidence of their role as carcinogens.

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