Agricultural pesticide residue is probably a problem that worries consumers the most when they buy agricultural products. Should they buy the more expensive product, the one with production and marketing traceability, GAP (good agricultural practices), CAS label accreditation, or farm produce sold by vendors outside traditional markets? Are those organic products really organic as they claimed?

Many consumer surveys have also indicated that consumers has been swinging back and forth between price and safety.

Butterfly Lily Organic Eco-Educational Farm owner Mr. Chin-tsai Lin advised consumers that “If you think that a farm product of 90% using hundred point system is too expensive, you may buy the one of 70 or 80% but absolutely not the one of less than 60%.”

Mr. Lin felt that farm produce of more than 70% are at least under certain controls. Even if agricultural pesticide had been used, they surely conformed to government regulations, were used according to regulations, and subjected to regular and irregular inspections by concerned government agencies. As to agricultural products with production and marketing traceability, GAP, CAS labels, “agricultural pesticide residue on them is lower than safety allowance standards,” said Lin, adding that even though they are not organic farm produce, they are safe for consumption.

Many consumers believe that to clean agricultural products for a longer time or add cleaning solution can remove agricultural pesticide residue. In fact, some residues will be absorbed by farm products and, therefore, cannot be removed by cleaning. The government has regulated that farm produce sprayed with agricultural pesticide cannot be harvested before a certain period of time, that’s because it takes some time for those chemicals to be depleted or dissolved. Mr. Lin advised consumers to buy agricultural products of more than 70% just because these products can be consumed without worries.
Ms. Hung-ping Lee director of Residue Control, Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute, has much confidence in farm produce subject to monitoring and controlling. ”Our instruments are extremely precise and have often been complained by farmers. Many of our instruments are the same being used by CSI, a very popular American police procedural TV series,” she said.

Mr. Ching-wen Huang, a field monitoring researcher at the institute, noted that in cooperation with agricultural agencies on monitoring and controlling, farmers have to pay a certain price and experience some inconvenience. They have to receive training in how to use agricultural pesticide first, and then allow samples being taken from their farmland and discuss face-to-face related problems with instructors. When applying for farm produce labels, they also have to allow sample-taking and answer questions on agricultural chemical uses. Then they are subject to random inspections under the management of district agricultural research and extension station or city county government agencies after obtaining the labels.

The labels, which are not effective for life, will be renewed only after farmers performing good for one year.

Dr Ching-wen Kao Director of Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute said that currently the government plans to establish a “seamless farm produce management system” which will be implemented by Agriculture and Food Agency in full cooperation with district agricultural research and extension stations, animal and plant disease control centers, Department of Health and the Council of Agriculture. Under the system, agricultural products in farms or ranches are subject to close monitoring by Taiwan Agricultural Chemicals and Toxic Substances Research Institute before being harvested for selling. Agricultural products will be monitored and controlled by district agricultural research and extension station when they are delivered to distributing center and wholesale markets. And Department of Health will take over the responsibility of monitoring when these products are on the market. The government is determined to safeguard the safety of agricultural products with such trans-agency cooperation.
“From then on, the labels will become the safety guarantee for agricultural products,” said Dr. Kao.