In response to a report released yesterday by the Consumers' Foundation that seven out 35 samples of mushrooms it randomly selected for test from local markets contained cadmium level exceeding legal limit, Deputy Minister of Council of Agriculture Lin Kuo-hua said in the Legislature that he wouldn't want to eat imported Brazilian mushroom but emphasized that mushrooms grown domestically are safe.

The foundation's chairman Chen Hung-jen said on Wednesday that the 35 samples tested were taken from dry food stores, traditional markets, supermarkets, vegetable suppliers and organic food stores from October through November. The 35 samples consisted of 18 fresh mushrooms and 17 dried mushrooms of three different kinds, he said.

Chen said that these samples were tested for their levels of containing lead, cadmium, and mercury.

The results showed that only one sample was found to have contained lead but the level was within the legal limit of 3 ppm, and all of the 35 samples were free of mercury.

However, he emphasized that all the eight dry Brazilian mushrooms tested contained cadmium, and seven of them exceeded the legal limit of 2 ppm.

When asked about the mushrooms in the Legislature, Lin said, "The test was not conducted by us, but I wouldn't eat the mushroom."

However, he emphasized that Brazilian mushrooms produced domestically by Taiwan farmers are safe to eat because they are grown in wood chip. He said he thought these harmful Brazilian mushrooms should be pulled off the shelves, but said it was the authority of the Ministry of Economic Affairs to do so.