Zhonglian CEO Attends Food and Drug Administration Expert Meeting: FDA States Case Has Been Handed Over to Prosecutors for Investigation

The Zhonglian Oil benzo[a]pyrene exceeding standards event continues to escalate. KMT legislator Chen Ching-hui revealed during a legislative session on July 30th that Zhonglian CEO Yu Lingchong attended the July 4th FDA expert meeting, raising suspicions of involvement in discussions on problematic oil product withdrawal standards. The FDA clarified that the Zhonglian representative only provided explanations and did not participate in expert decision-making. Chen Ching-hui demanded that the Ministry of Health and Welfare explain what Yu Lingchong said in the meeting, what data he provided, and whether he participated in discussions on the 20% withdrawal threshold. The FDA stated that all meeting records, related videos, and documents from that day have been sent to prosecutors for investigation. Why was Zhonglian allowed to attend the meeting? According to the Central News Agency, FDA Deputy Director Wang Deyuan explained that the July 4th meeting was divided into different stages. First, the Zhonglian representative was asked to explain the reasons for the benzo[a]pyrene exceeding standards, and experts reviewed the company's July 3rd process improvement report submitted to the Taichung City Government. According to the FDA, the Zhonglian representative's role was limited to providing data and explanations and did not participate in subsequent expert decision-making. Wang Deyuan pointed out that the improvement report submitted by Zhonglian was evaluated by experts as 'not passing' and failed to prove that the process issues had been effectively improved. Therefore, the meeting clearly decided not to allow resumption of work. He emphasized that the FDA had already ordered Zhonglian to stop work as early as July 1st and did not give the company special treatment. How was the 20% withdrawal threshold set? Regarding the 20% preventive withdrawal standard, Wang Deyuan explained that at the time, some of Zhonglian's oil products were found to contain benzo[a]pyrene concentrations of 8ppb, exceeding the domestic limit standard of 2ppb. Experts, based on inspection results, risk assessment, and scientific evidence, judged that a mixing ratio of more than 20% could potentially exceed the standard, thus forming a related withdrawal consensus, which was not decided by the business or a single unit. In response to external doubts about government protection, Wang Deyuan bluntly stated 'completely unacceptable' and said the FDA had sent all meeting records, video files, and related documents to prosecutors. As for whether to make the expert list public, he said the data had been handed over to prosecutors for investigation, 'which is the most fair way to handle it'.