TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has seized 500 tons of U.S. corn contaminated with vomitoxin, a mold toxin that causes vomiting.

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Tuesday it found the toxin in a batch of corn meant for food processing during a border inspection, TVBS reported. The corn will not enter the market and must be returned or destroyed.

FDA Deputy Director Lin Chin-fu (林金富) said this was the first time vomitoxin had been detected in food products imported into Taiwan. He said corn products are prone to mold and fungi in humid and hot environments.

Lin said the 501,289 kilograms of corn, imported by Kaohsiung's Taiwan Commodity Purchasing Group Corp., had deoxynivalenol concentrations of 2,437 µg/kg, higher than the legal limit of 1,750 µg/kg for standard unprocessed corn.

He added the FDA conducts 20 inspections a year for toxins such as aflatoxin, ochratoxin, and deoxynivalenol, and no previous problems had been reported.