Taishan Good Oil Carcinogen Exceeds Limit, 642 Cases Shipped Have Been Recalled

(Central News Agency, reporters Shen Peiyao, Zeng Yining, Taipei, July 8) Another batch of "Taishan Good Oil 0.6L" has been found to exceed the limit for carcinogenic substances in cooking oil. The batch, with an expiration date of July 25, 2027, had 642 cases shipped, but all have been requested for precautionary recall by retailers.

The fallout from the Zhonglian Oils case continues to expand. Minister of Health and Welfare Shih Chung-liang stated today that he received a report last night that a batch of Taishan cooking oil also tested positive for exceeding the limit of benzo[a]pyrene at 2.5 ppb. Investigations are underway to trace the batch number.

Regarding the three other oil companies besides Zhonglian, Shih Chung-liang said that personnel from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have entered their premises to simultaneously sample and test the inspection samples they retained from April to the end of June this year, to ensure there are no other issues.

Tsai Shu-chen, deputy director-general of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), explained in a phone interview this evening that around 9 p.m. yesterday, the Changhua County Public Health Bureau reported that during other inspections at the Taishan Enterprise factory, Taishan proactively provided a notice of voluntary testing, indicating that their "Taishan Good Oil" detected 2.5 μg/kg of benzo[a]pyrene, exceeding the limit of 2.0 μg/kg.

Tsai Shu-chen pointed out that the problematic product is a small 0.6-liter package with an expiration date of July 25, 2027. According to the FDA's preliminary data review, this batch of oil produced a total of 996 cases, with 24 bottles per case. Currently, 642 cases have been distributed to general retail channels, with 354 cases remaining in factory inventory.

"This batch of products was voluntarily and preemptively recalled before July 3rd, and is no longer available for sale in the market," Tsai Shu-chen stated. The company has reported to the local health bureau and is carrying out destruction under the supervision of relevant personnel, with video recording. It is difficult to accurately count the number of individual bottles recovered. All related disposal actions are being handled in accordance with regulations, and subsequent distribution is being strictly monitored to ensure that problematic products do not re-enter the market.

Tsai Shu-chen explained that this product is a blended oil containing multiple types of oils, including soybean salad oil, canola oil, sunflower oil, and olive oil. According to the test reports provided by Taishan, the benzo[a]pyrene levels in the sunflower oil and olive oil met the regulations. Although the canola oil was from multiple batches, preliminary tests showed no issues. Therefore, the FDA's investigation is focusing on the soybean salad oil.

Traceability results show that the problematic soybean salad oil originated from Zhonglian Oils Co., Ltd., with batch number "313-1150512". Tsai Shu-chen stated that Zhonglian Oils' total output of this batch of soybean oil reached 1,309.52 metric tons. In addition to supplying approximately 410.84 metric tons to Taishan Enterprise, it was also supplied to two other major oil manufacturers: Fwusow Industry Co., Ltd. with approximately 369.49 metric tons, and Fwusow Food Industrial Co., Ltd. with approximately 529.19 metric tons.

Tsai Shu-chen said that FDA colleagues have entered the site. Due to the large quantity of raw materials supplied by Zhonglian Oils and the involvement of multiple downstream end products, investigators are reviewing raw material source records, acceptance receipts, and downstream distribution lists. Each item must be verified to clarify whether other products have been affected.

Consumers who have purchased this "Taishan Good Oil 0.6L" can identify it by the expiration date "July 25, 2027" on the product packaging. Regarding public concern about the testing progress of the more than 30 samples retained by Zhonglian Oils, Tsai Shu-chen emphasized that the laboratory has been instructed to expedite the process. The verification status and latest test reports for Fwusow Industry and Fwusow Food will be announced tomorrow, along with relevant information. (Editor: Li Shu-hua) 1150708

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