Excessive Pesticide Residues Detected in 4 Types of Spring Vegetables...Seized and Destroyed

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Park Noh-hun] The Gyeonggi Province Health and Environment Research Institute announced on the 20th that it conducted "residual pesticide and radioactive material safety inspections" on 167 batches of 16 types of spring vegetables distributed throughout the province, and excessive pesticide residues exceeding the standard were detected in 4 cases. These products were seized and destroyed, and administrative action was requested from relevant agencies.

The inspection was conducted from the 2nd to the 13th, collecting 16 types of spring vegetables from four public agricultural product wholesale markets in Suwon, Anyang, Ansan, and Guri, as well as department stores and large distribution outlets throughout the province. The inspection investigated the presence of 341 types of residual pesticides and radioactive materials including iodine (131I) and cesium (134Cs+137Cs).
Target items included fatsia shoots, shepherd's purse, Korean chives, stonecrop, butterbur, water dropwort, peucedanum japonicum, spring brassica, amaranth, tripod grass, spinach, mugwort, sonchus, rapeseed greens, fatsia, and aralia shoots.

Inspection results showed that diazinon, a pesticide component, was detected at 0.13mg/kg in one batch of fatsia shoots, which is 13 times the standard of 0.01mg/kg.
In another batch of fatsia shoots, the pesticide component 'procymidone' was detected at 0.09mg/kg, exceeding the standard by 0.04mg/kg, and in one batch of rapeseed greens, the pesticide component 'fludioxonil' was detected at 0.41mg/kg, exceeding the standard by 0.36mg/kg.
One batch of sonchus also detected 'fluquinconazole' at 0.06mg/kg, exceeding the standard.

Accordingly, the institute seized and destroyed agricultural products with detected residual pesticides exceeding the standard, and notified relevant agencies including the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and the National Agricultural Products Quality Management Service of the inspection results to ensure administrative action is taken.
The institute emphasized that by soaking agricultural products in water 2-3 times and then rinsing under running water, most pesticide components can be removed even from products containing some residual pesticides. Therefore, it urged citizens to thoroughly wash spring vegetables before cooking them.

Yun Mi-hye, director of the Gyeonggi Province Health and Environment Research Institute, said, "Since spring vegetables contain abundant nutrients that can help boost the body's immunity, we will continue to make efforts so that residents can consume healthy spring vegetables with confidence. We plan to continue conducting regular inspections on seasonal agricultural products going forward."

Meanwhile, radioactive materials were not detected in any of the agricultural products subject to inspection.