Contaminated Oil Found in 165 Schools, Suppliers to Face Heavy Penalties

Taipei, July 6 (CNA) The controversy over carcinogens exceeding standards in Chung Lien cooking oil continues to escalate. According to Ministry of Education statistics, four counties and cities have reported that some schools used the problematic oil, which entered a total of 165 schools. These schools have been instructed to preemptively remove and stop using the oil. Director-General of the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Chiang Tze-hsin stated that if it is found that the problematic oil is still in use, catering service providers will face severe penalties.

The carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene in Chung Lien's "Soybean Salad Oil" exceeded the standard. A total of 1,300 metric tons flowed to companies such as Taishan, Fwusow, and Fwumao. The Ministry of Health and Welfare held a joint press conference this evening. Chu Shu-chin, head of the School Lunch Section of the K-12 Education Administration, Ministry of Education, explained at the conference that they have completed inquiries with the 22 local governments nationwide regarding school usage. All local governments have completed preliminary investigations and reporting.

According to Ministry of Education statistics, 18 counties and cities confirmed they did not use the affected oil. Another four counties and cities reported that some schools had used it, including 50 schools in New Taipei City, 42 schools in Taipei City, 67 schools in Taichung City, one experimental education school, one experimental education institution, and four schools in Keelung City.

Chu Shu-chin said that the Ministry of Education has requested the relevant local governments to supervise schools and catering service providers to inventory, preemptively remove, and stop using the oil according to the information announced by the Ministry of Health and Welfare. They will continue to track the subsequent handling of the situation to ensure that the affected oil does not enter school campuses again, thereby safeguarding students' food safety.

FDA Director-General Chiang Tze-hsin said that school catering services that have used the problematic oil must stop using it as soon as possible. If it is found that the problematic oil is still in use later, severe penalties will be imposed. Not only schools, but also general catering businesses that may use products containing the problematic oil, such as spreads, for other foods. If these are products that should be removed from shelves, catering businesses must not continue to sell them. Those who continue to use the problematic products will also face severe penalties.

The Chung Lien problematic oil storm continues to spread, with opposition parties demanding political responsibility from the supervisory authorities. Chiang Tze-hsin stated that he understands the public's anxiety about food safety incidents and empathizes with it, respecting the expectations and supervision from the public towards the FDA and himself. The most important responsibility at this stage is to thoroughly clarify the flow of problematic products, complete the removal operations, hold the businesses accountable according to the law, and continuously review and improve the management mechanisms.

Chiang Tze-hsin said that every food safety incident is an important opportunity to review the system and strengthen management. After the incident occurred, an expert meeting was held immediately to reach a consensus and propose improvement measures. Furthermore, a meeting was held with the four major oil manufacturers in the country, requiring them to fully implement production process management. This is the most fundamental work to ensure food safety, and it is our inescapable responsibility.

Chiang Tze-hsin reiterated that in the future, they will continue to improve management measures, strengthen supervision, and review relevant systems, including whether to adopt batch management and add important control points. Taiwan's oil manufacturing industry has a long history, and they will work together with the industry to continuously improve the level of food safety management. Thank you for all the advice, and we will continue to improve. (Editor: Chen Ching-fang) 1150706

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