Tainan Investigates Problematic Cooking Oil, Orders All Products Recalled Regardless of Usage Percentage

(CNA, Tainan, July 7) Regarding the case of carcinogenic benzo(a)pyrene exceeding standards in cooking oil from Zhonglian, the Tainan City Government has confirmed that school self-operated kitchens and group meal providers did not use the affected oil. The city has decided that all downstream products made with the implicated oil from the three problematic brands will be recalled and removed from shelves, regardless of the percentage of the problematic oil used.

The Tainan City Government issued a press release stating that during the afternoon's municipal meeting, a cross-departmental special report was presented by the Health Bureau, Education Bureau, and Environmental Protection Bureau on the comprehensive inventory of the flow of problematic cooking oil and the inspection status of various locations.

Tainan Mayor Huang Wei-che stated at the meeting that regarding campus lunches, which are of utmost concern to citizens, a comprehensive investigation found that none of Tainan's 99 schools with self-operated kitchens or 16 group meal providers used the affected oil. Tainan's school lunches are mostly prepared in self-operated central kitchens, making source management easier to control. Parents can rest assured.

Huang Wei-che added that in addition to continuing to supervise the recall and removal of problematic cooking oil from retail channels such as hypermarkets and convenience stores, further investigations will be conducted into the usage by catering establishments like markets, night markets, and food stalls to fully track the flow of the problematic oil.

He said that all downstream products made with the implicated oil from the three problematic brands will be recalled and removed from shelves, regardless of the percentage of the problematic oil used, without the 20% restriction. The Health Bureau will assist businesses in handling the subsequent processing of problematic products.

Huang Wei-che stated that for problematic cooking oil mistakenly purchased by the public, if a refund cannot be obtained from the original point of purchase, the Environmental Protection Bureau can assist with the recycling and disposal. He also expressed hope that through this incident, the mechanism for recycling used cooking oil will be further strengthened to prevent used oil from being illegally discarded or re-entering the market.

Data provided by the Tainan City Health Bureau indicates that as of yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare announced 360 affected downstream businesses nationwide, with 22 located in Tainan. Upon receiving the report, the city government launched inspections, resulting in the recall of 780 kilograms of problematic cooking oil. Additionally, inspections of 10 retail channel businesses were completed, leading to the recall of 93 kilograms of problematic cooking oil, with ongoing tracking of the recovery and product flow. (Editor: Chang Ming-kun) 1150707

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