Premier Jiang pledges swift action on new oil scandal

2014-10-14

The government is committed to ensuring food safety nationwide and will spare no effort in rooting out unscrupulous food-makers, according to Premier Jiang Yi-huah Oct. 11.

“All relevant agencies have been directed to use every power available to crack down on those violating Taiwan’s food laws,” Jiang said. “The Ministry of Health and Welfare will name the firms embroiled in the scandal and identify tainted food products as soon as possible.”

The premier made the remarks after reports surfaced alleging that Cheng I Food Co. Ltd., Taiwan’s leading supplier of lard-based oil, has been mixing animal feed oil from Vietnam into its products. This discovery follows a similar case in early September involving pork oil made with kitchen and industrial waste.

According to Jiang, although the companies at the center of the controversy command substantial shares of the domestic market, this will not protect them from prosecution to the fullest extent of the law. “The MOHW, Ministry of Justice and other agencies have been directed to investigate and prosecute the case thoroughly so as to give the local food industry a fresh start and restore public confidence in its products,” he said.

Intense government efforts to pull problematic products from shelves have impacted the local food and oil markets, the premier said. “We will implement complementary measures to mitigate temporary supply shortages, including slashing import duties on lard from 20 percent to 10 percent.”

In addition, the government is preparing to provide administrative assistance through a special task force to help business, consumers and exporters affected by the incident, Jiang added.

Both cases involve Ting Hsin International Group, owner of the Master Kang instant noodle brand and parent of Wei-Chuan Corp., Taiwan’s second largest food producer. The group was also named last November in an olive oil scandal surrounding the use of illegal coloring agent copper chlorophyllin.

Ting Hsin is facing mounting pressure after 22 local governments ordered all food products by the group banned from school campuses. A public movement is also taking shape to boycott the company.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=222745&CtNode=413)