Taiwan’s controversy over U.S. potato import inspections escalated after Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) suggested customs would check potatoes “one-by-one,” prompting questions about conflicts with the Food and Drug Administration's (TFDA) sampling protocols. Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) clarified on Thursday that imported foods undergo separate quarantine by the Agriculture Ministry, covering visual checks for pests, and TFDA safety testing, which has never involved per-potato inspections. 

The TFDA employs a risk-based approach to batch sampling for items such as pesticide residues, heavy metals, and solanine - a bitter-tasting steroidal alkaloid found in potatoes. Typically, they sample between 2% and 10% of a batch, but if issues arise, this can escalate to 20-50% or even full batch sampling. Shih stated that if solanine levels exceed the established limits, entire shipments are either rejected or destroyed, with a standard turnaround time of three days. "We usually don't test individual potatoes," he explained. "Instead, we sample the batch based on risk, starting at 2% to 10%. If there is a problem, we increase the sampling to 20-50%. If issues continue, we switch to full-batch sampling. Our capacity to handle this is sufficient."

Shih added that sprouting does not directly correlate with solanine levels, so TFDA relies on lab tests against food standards, not visual cues alone.