Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang: All products using Uni-President Enterprises Corp. oil to be removed from shelves by July 8

(Central News Agency, Taipei, July 7) The scandal of carcinogen benzopyrene exceeding standards in Uni-President Enterprises Corp. (UPEC) oil products is snowballing. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang announced today that to ensure public peace of mind, all 175 items with a content of 20% or less will be immediately removed from shelves. This action is to be completed by midnight tomorrow.

UPEC's "Soybean Salad Oil" was found to have excessive levels of the carcinogen benzopyrene. A total of 1,300 metric tons flowed to companies including Taishin, Fwusow, and Formosa Oils & Fats. As of yesterday, 18 affected products from a total of 30 batches were identified, impacting 360 businesses. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare has set up a special section on its official website for the UPEC oil case, updating the latest developments daily at 2 p.m.

The FDA held a press conference this afternoon to explain the progress. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang made an unannounced appearance and announced that the original regulation requiring the removal of second-tier products containing 20% or more of related ingredients has been changed. Now, all second-tier products, regardless of the proportion of UPEC oil used, must be removed from shelves. They can only be restocked after the businesses provide proof of qualified inspection results.

According to FDA statistics, there are a total of 175 products with a content below 20%. Shih Chung-liang pointed out that all of them must be removed from shelves by midnight tomorrow (July 8).

Shih Chung-liang explained that the first wave of product removal measures only targeted first-tier products, mainly following the principles established by an expert meeting in 2017. However, this incident revealed that a considerable proportion of second-tier downstream products are made with crude oil or high-content oil, such as salad dressings. Therefore, a scientific recommendation was re-proposed at the expert meeting on July 4.

Shih Chung-liang stated frankly that the FDA acts in accordance with the law, and the competent authority must handle matters involving the rights and obligations of the people according to the law. However, in practical implementation, the original regulation requiring removal only if "20% or more" was contained left room for ambiguity for frontline enforcement personnel regarding the determination of whether the content was above or below 20%.

He emphasized that food safety cannot have gray areas. Therefore, after balancing expert professional oversight and administrative efficiency, the decision was made to take comprehensive precautionary removal measures. All second-tier products will be removed from shelves and can be restocked after passing inspection.

Shih Chung-liang said this is the first time such substances have been found to exceed standards in cooking oil. Through this incident, the government will also comprehensively review the current oil product management mechanism to clarify any systemic loopholes. He pointed out that past inspection and sampling items were not designed for such situations, and further investigation is needed to confirm which link in the process went wrong.

Shih Chung-liang reiterated that the government will not wait until the investigation is fully clarified before taking action. Monitoring requirements have already been increased, and local health bureaus have been tasked with strengthening post-market sampling. The FDA will also expand inspections of oil refineries and oil production processes, increasing inspection nodes to ensure comprehensive oversight from raw materials to finished products, guaranteeing the safety of all oil products on the market and ensuring that all oil products sold meet safety standards. (Editor: Li Shu-hua) 1150707

Stand with facts, your every donation is a force to protect press freedom

Download the CNA "First News" APP to get the latest news in real time

Text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or used without authorization.