Uni-President EC to Refund via App; Taipei City Government Urges Other Retailers to Follow Suit

By Central News Agency Reporter Huang Li-Yun, Taipei, July 14 The discovery of carcinogen超标 in Chung Lian edible oil products has affected fresh food items sold at convenience stores. Starting today, Uni-President Convenience Store (7-ELEVEN) will gradually issue automatic refunds to consumers' app wallets.

The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released a list of 232 affected products due to excessive levels of benzo[a]pyrene, a carcinogenic substance, in Chung Lian edible oil. Several fresh food items from convenience stores are included.

Uni-President recently announced it will cooperate with Lian Hua Foods on the refund process. Consumers who purchased implicated Lian Hua Foods fresh food items at 7-ELEVEN between April 13 and April 23, 2024, and used a registered membership account at checkout, will receive automatic refunds to their app wallet starting July 14. Non-members can present receipts at stores for in-person refunds.

In a press release this afternoon, the Taipei City Legal Affairs Department stated that the city government convened an administrative investigation meeting on July 9 with major retail operators, strongly urging them to implement refund policies based on the principles of speed, generosity, preferential treatment, and simplicity.

Additionally, to protect consumer rights, the city formally sent letters on July 13 to major chain convenience stores, well-known supermarkets, and wholesale retailers, requiring them to immediately audit whether they sold the affected products, proactively notify impacted consumers using membership big data, and promptly announce their refund measures.

A Taipei City consumer protection officer stated that Uni-President has initiated its refund operations today, introducing an 'automatic refund' mechanism for members, significantly enhancing consumer convenience. The Taipei City Government urges other major retail chains to consider adopting similar refund methods.

The Legal Affairs Department emphasized it will continue to urge retailers without published refund plans to act swiftly and require all channels to regularly update and report the number and amount of refunds processed.

Consumers who recently purchased related fresh food items at convenience stores are reminded to properly retain purchase records or membership transaction logs. The city government will continue monitoring retailers' refund implementation. Citizens encountering store refusal of returns or other consumer disputes should immediately call the 1999 citizen hotline or the national consumer service hotline at 1950 for assistance. (Edited by Lin Shu-Hui) 1150714