The first batch of commercially grown blueberries in Taiwan went on sale Monday at the 7-Eleven convenience store chain in a venture seeking to end the country's reliance on imports of the highly nutritious fruit.

Chiayi County Agriculture Department official Lee Chiu-ying (李秋瑩) said the blueberries were grown in the county's Fanlu Township (番路).

The Taiwan Blueberry Team was founded in 2016 and collaborated with Li Kuo-tan (李國譚), a professor at the Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture at National Taiwan University, to adapt the techniques learned in the UK and the United States, Lee said.

The team overcame climatic and environmental limitations to successfully grow domestic blueberries at the foot of one of Taiwan's most famous peaks, he said.

The head of the Chiayi Department of Agriculture, Hsu Chang-min (許彰敏), said that most people associate agriculture in the Alishan (阿里山) area with tea and coffee.

He was happy that the Taiwan blueberry team settled at the foot of Alishan and introduced the berry to Taiwan's agricultural scene, Hsu said.

Aside from 7-Eleven stores, people can also buy locally grown blueberries on Taiwan Blueberry's website, www.taiwanblueberry.com.

In other news, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday that about 123 tons of Chilean cherries were barred from entering Taiwan after food safety tests showed they had pesticide residues exceeding their standards.

Nine shipments from Chile were found to have residues of cyantraniliprole, a broad-spectrum insecticide, after lot-by-lot inspections at the border, said Chen Ching-yu (陳慶裕), an official with the FDA's Northern Regional Administration Center.

Taiwan only allows cyantraniliprole within its standards in melons, cruciferous vegetables, tea leaves, apples and pears, the FDA said, adding that it is not allowed in imported cherries.

Since Jan. 11, all cherries imported from the South American nation have been subject to border testing after fruit shipments were found to be failing security checks more frequently, Chen said.

Also mentioned among the 35 substandard food items on the latest list of rejected food shipments released yesterday by the FDA were kumquats from Japan, frozen pork from Spain, mola mola intestines from Singapore and a shipment of instant noodles from Indonesia.

All marked shipments were either destroyed or returned to their country of origin, the FDA said.