Caught! Chen Jinghui Exposes Zhonglian's Full Participation in 'Toxic Oil 20% Removal Threshold' Meeting: Shih Chong-liang Publicly Lied

The controversy over Zhonglian's carcinogenic oil continues to escalate. Recently, media reports revealed that on July 4, an expert food safety meeting set a 20% threshold for removing contaminated oil products from shelves. Initially, Health and Welfare Minister Shih Chong-liang claimed that Yu Ling-chong, Zhonglian's general manager, had left the meeting before the second session and thus did not participate in the discussion on the 20% removal standard. However, today, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Director General Chiang Chih-kang admitted that Yu was present throughout the entire meeting. In response, Kuomintang legislator Chen Jinghui posted on Facebook, fiercely criticizing the government. According to explanations from the FDA and the Food Safety Office, Zhonglian's senior executives were present for the entire meeting that established the '20% removal standard,' proving that Minister Shih publicly lied to protect the company and evade responsibility, severely damaging government credibility.

Chen Jinghui emphasized that Zhonglian's top management, including General Manager Yu Ling-chong, refinery plant manager Chen Ming-rong, and the quality research section chief, attended the full 125-minute expert meeting on setting the 20% threshold for recalling contaminated oil-containing products. The meeting consisted of a single session divided into two topics, and Zhonglian's executives were present throughout. This directly contradicts Minister Shih's previous claim that Yu had left during the second session and did not participate in the 20% standard discussion. Chen accused Shih of fabricating facts to shield the company and avoid accountability, stating that the minister himself is the one protecting Zhonglian.

Chen also highlighted that Food Safety Office Director Hsu Fu admitted the expert meeting had only advisory status and no decision-making power. This confirms that the final decision on the 20% threshold—and the responsibility for it—lies with Minister Shih and FDA Director Chiang.

Regarding Taiwan Sugar Corporation (TSC)'s failure to report carcinogenic oil with benzo[a]pyrene levels seven times above the limit, Chen pointed out that after the 2024 Sudan Red incident, the Executive Yuan, Control Yuan, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare clearly stated that food manufacturers must report any product or raw material posing a food safety risk to local authorities. The Control Yuan's investigation report on the Sudan Red case explicitly included finished products, semi-finished goods, and raw materials under Article 7, Paragraph 5 of the Food Safety and Sanitation Management Act. These documents confirm that TSC had a legal obligation to report.

Chen lamented that instead of accountability, the public has witnessed the DPP government repeatedly making excuses to absolve TSC. The Ministry of Economic Affairs compared the oil to 'rotten cabbage leaves,' the Ministry of Health claimed degummed crude oil is a semi-finished product, and the FDA even stated, 'It hadn't entered the production line, so it's not a product and not illegal.' All these justifications clearly aim to shift responsibility away from TSC and the Kaohsiung City Government. The Ministry of Health, as the regulatory authority, is willingly narrowing the legal scope to evade accountability.