Carcinogenic Oil Crisis Burns for 23 Days! Where Did 5,700 Tons of Contaminated Oil Go? Ministry of Health Confirms: Only 30% Can Be Recovered

Almost a month after the outbreak of the carcinogenic oil food safety scandal, the crisis continues to spread. Up to 5,700 tons of contaminated oil have been distributed across Taiwan, with reports indicating that military units mistakenly consumed more than 50 drums of the tainted oil. On July 22, Kuomintang legislator Chen Jinghui presented a timeline during questioning, criticizing the Ministry of Health and Welfare for repeatedly changing its product removal standards and failing to release lists promptly, resulting in the loss of the critical recovery window. Regarding the manufacturers' long-term concealment and delayed reporting, Minister Shih Chung-liang admitted that the current recovery rate for contaminated oil is only about 30%, with up to 70% likely unrecoverable.

Legislator Chen criticized the chaotic response, stating that since the incident broke out at the end of June, the Food and Drug Administration first claimed that manufacturers were also victims and did not immediately release the list of affected products. On July 5, it suddenly introduced a differentiated removal policy based on whether the toxic oil content was above or below 20%, causing confusion among retailers. Chen questioned who made the decision behind the '20% removal threshold' after the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office intervened, demanding that the Ministry clarify administrative responsibility.

Minister Shih responded that the 20% threshold was initially proposed during an expert meeting as a standard, but due to practical difficulties in implementation, the decision was made to switch to a preventive removal policy that includes products with less than 20% contamination. Shih admitted that enforcing the 20% threshold on the ground was extremely difficult. He emphasized that the low recovery rate of 5,700 tons of contaminated oil was entirely due to unscrupulous manufacturers concealing information and delaying reporting for an extended period.

Regarding concerns about exports to South Korea, Shih clarified that the batch of oil exported to Korea did not exceed safety limits. The requirement by Korean authorities for importers to conduct self-inspections was a 'business-to-business' commercial notification, not an official alert from Taiwan due to failed inspections. The Ministry of Health and Welfare sent personnel to inspect the factory on July 21 to verify relevant data and documents. A full investigation report, along with an internal review of administrative responsibilities, will be released. Additionally, the Ministry will officially explain concerns regarding the quality of soybeans and production processes in the contaminated oil by July 28.