Gov't urged to check Chinese tea over pesticide concerns

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Pan Men-an accused the government of failing to take action against the low quality tea products, even though they were found to have high pesticide residues and their countries of origin were not properly shown.

At a press conference Monday, Pan displayed dried tea leaves that came from a vacuum-packed bag to help the local farmers make their case.

“The eyes cannot tell bad tea from good tea,” said Wang Chao-kun, chairman of a tea association in Alishan, a mountain area in southern Taiwan's Chiayi County famed for producing quality tea.

“You have to taste it to know the difference because good tea will leave a slightly sweet taste in the back of your throat, while low quality tea does not,” he said.

Wang said these imported teas had led to a 60-percent decline in local tea farmers' business.

“Local TV shopping channels and telephone marketers are the major sellers of these low quality tea products,” Wang contended.

Imports of Chinese tea have also surged ahead of the Lunar New Year holiday to meet rising demand, Pan said.

Citing custom figures, he said that 537.63 tons of Chinese tea were imported into Taiwan in January this year, representing a 115.23 percent increase from the 249.79 tons imported the same month a year ago.

He also noted that Taiwan imported 27,734.14 tons of tea last year, of which Chinese and Vietnamese tea accounted for 85 percent, compared with 80 percent reported in 2008.

One of the problems, Pan said, is that a barrel of tea with 99 percent of its leaves from Vietnam and only 1 percent from Taiwan can still be labeled as being “Made in Taiwan,” according to the Ministry of Finance's rules on the origin of imported goods.

The lawmaker urged the Department of Health (DOH) to issue an executive order requiring tea vendors to clearly identify every tea product's country of origin and list the different countries of origin and their ratios if the tea is a blend.

He also asked the government to intensify testing for pesticides in tea products imported from China and Vietnam.

In response, Wu Chung-si, a DOH section chief, said that the results of inspections on unsafe food products, including teas, will be posted on the ministry's Web site.

Liu Fang-ming, another DOH section chief, said that those who fail to indicate the country of origin of their products will be subject to fines of between NT$30,000 (US$934) and NT$150,000.

Those who inaccurately label their products will be subject to fines of between NT$40,000 and NT$200,000, he added.

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