Defending Toxic Oil with a Catchphrase? Dai Wei-shan Claims 'Benzopyrene is a Natural Substance' — Criticized on 3 Points: Which Soybean Spontaneously Heats to 300°C?

The controversy over Zhonglian Oils' soybean salad oil containing carcinogenic 'benzopyrene' above safety limits continues to escalate. On the 20th, DPP New Taipei City Councilor Dai Wei-shan appeared on a TV program and stated that the chemical benzopyrene was not added but naturally present in the raw materials. She explained that since the materials are imported overseas, they undergo drying processes during transit, causing the chemical levels to rise. 'This is a substance naturally inherent in plants, so it is a natural substance,' she said.

In response, the Facebook page 'Politician Shuang' posted a rebuttal, sarcastically calling Dai's statement a 'golden quote' following her previous remark that 'laziness is worse than eating fried chicken.' They challenged her claim on three points:

First, do plants naturally synthesize benzopyrene at room temperature? Benzopyrene (BaP) is a typical high-temperature pyrolysis product, formed only when organic matter decomposes and recombines at temperatures above 300°C to 600°C. The page asked Dai: 'Which cabbage or soybean in any field heats up to 300°C during photosynthesis?'

Second, plants do not naturally produce carcinogens. If benzopyrene is detected in crops at normal temperatures, it is 100% due to external contamination—either from exhaust soot drifting onto fields or from smoke exposure during post-harvest drying using wood fires or heavy oil hot air. Yet, in Dai's narrative, this contamination is being whitewashed as 'naturally present.'

Third, by Dai's logic, is dioxin also a natural health supplement? Volcanic eruptions and forest fires do produce trace amounts of dioxin under high heat. If Dai's 'anything found in nature is harmless' logic holds, should she next launch a public science campaign saying: 'Don’t panic, dioxin is also a natural substance—volcanoes and forest fires naturally produce it, so inhaling more is harmless!'?

Dai emphasized that this incident is fundamentally different from the Ting Hsin (Top Oil) scandal. On the program 'News! Can We Ask?', she stated: 'Ting Hsin illegally added substances and used gutter oil and recycled oil as raw materials, which is unacceptable. But in this case, the chemical was not added—it was already present in the raw materials.'

She added that Taiwan does not produce enough oilseed crops like soybeans domestically and relies on imported raw materials. In the EU, the time from farm to oil is short, so fewer such chemicals form. But in Taiwan, imported materials require drying during long-distance transport, causing benzopyrene levels to rise. 'This is a substance naturally inherent in plants, so it is a natural substance,' she concluded.