TAIPEI: Over half of 72 dried food items tested recently were found to be substandard, either tainted with excess sulfur dioxide or containing excessive amounts of pesticide residue, the Taipei City Department of Health said yesterday.

Of the 72 dried foods tested by the department, 42 items were chemically tainted or contained unhealthy substances, representing a substandard rate of 58.3 percent.

Chrysanthemum, silver fungus and day lily topped the substandard list, with 70 percent of the chrysanthemum and 50 percent of the silver fungus containing residues of the pesticide Methamidophos and 60 percent of the day lily containing excessive amounts of sulfur dioxide, said Chiang Yu-mei, a senior technical specialist with the department.

Most of the products originated from the eastern county of Hualien, Chiang said.

She said that if these food ingredients must be used, for example in the preparation of dishes traditionally prepared for the Chinese New Year holiday, the products can still be eaten safely with the correct preparation.

People should avoid buying day lily that is bright and vivid in color, she suggested, adding that soaking the dried flower buds in warm water for more than an hour and repeating the process three times can reduce sulfur dioxide residue by 70 percent, while boiling in a pan with the lid off for three minutes can reduce the residue by 90 percent.

If dried chrysanthemums are used to make herbal tea, it is safer for the drinker if the first two brews of the tea are dumped and only tea from the third brew onward is consumed, she said.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 02/02/2010 page2)