Page 89 - 2018 Annual Report Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan

Annual Report 2018 Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan management, such as by banning the use of herbicides on land not for agricultural use; and (iii) determining coordinated measures and gradually achieving reduction by one-half, for example by upgrading the professionalism of pesticide dealers and promoting the system of hiring professionals to spray pesticides on one’s fields. The action plan has already been published on the website of the COA’s Bureau of Animal and Plant Health Inspection and Quarantine. In the future it will be re-assessed on a rolling basis as we move steadily toward achieving the goals of the policy. (3) Strengthening the management of veterinary drugs To strengthen the management of veterinary drugs, in 2018 the COA announced: “Malachite green is prohibited from manufacture, import, export, sale or display as a veterinary drug; there is an exemption from this provision when malachite green is used to treat diseases of aquarium sh.” In response to the need for testing of domestic or imported vaccines, the COA also announced the testing standards for “inactivated bacterial vaccine for Haemophilus parasuis.” In case production animals (livestock, poultry, aquaculture animals) or their products fail to meet the standards for veterinary drug residues, the farmers shall have a notice on farm indicating: “This farm is movement restricted and under monitoring for veterinary drugs residues.” This is based on Paragraph 4, Article 32-3 of the “Veterinary Drugs Control Act.” (4) Strengthening testing and inspection of agriproducts The COA has adjusted, on a rolling basis, the items for and frequency of sample testing for pesticides for agriproducts that are recognized as high risk or have a high rate of violations. In 2018 the COA conducted sample tests for pesticide residues at the production end for 20,520 items of agriproducts, with 96.3% being up to standards. These included 14,991 sample tests on fruits and vegetables (including 11,589 tests in the fields or at distribution centers and 3,402 tests of school lunch ingredients), with 95.6% being up to standards; 3,229 tests on tea, with 98.7% being up to standards; and 2,300 tests on rice, with 97.5% being up to standards. In cases where the tested products were not up to standards, farmers were forbidden from selling their crops, while the relevant municipal, city, or county government did follow-up education, guidance in safe use of pesticides, and investigation and punishment under the law. To promote the “Five Links of Food Safety” and upgrade safety management of seafood products, the COA has expanded monitoring of the use of agrichemicals in aquaculture. In 2018 the COA conducted sample tests on seafood products that 87