"Stand down": The tainted gutter oil incident summary affected 246 food items and 1,020 snack and restaurant businesses; "Keelung Shallot Oil Shop" refused inspection and was ordered to suspend business.
(20:56 update) According to a Central News Agency report, Hong Kong has confirmed that when Kimbouyun Trading Company exported lard to Taiwan's Strong Crown Enterprise Co., Ltd., it declared feed-grade oil intended only for animal consumption as oil fit for human consumption, which involves a criminal offense. The Taiwan swill oil scandal has seen a new development.
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The Food and Drug Administration of the Ministry of Health and Welfare today (the 10th) released the "Summary Explanation of the Strong Crown 'Quan Tong Fragrant Lard' Incident," stating that the Strong Crown oil incident has now "stood down" and that it has traced the downstream flow of Strong Crown's problem oil products to 1,020 snack shops or food and beverage businesses, with the affected end food items numbering 246; the problem products that were taken off shelves and sealed have been destroyed one after another, but the "Keelung Scallion Oil Shop" still refuses to provide information on which downstream businesses it sold Quan Tong Fragrant Lard and its problematic fried scallion crisp to, and has been ordered to suspend business.
The Keelung City Health Bureau called on members of the public or food businesses that purchased Quan Tong Fragrant Lard, fried scallion crisp, or oil used to fry scallions from the business "Keelung Scallion Oil Shop" at No. 139 Xiding Road, Keelung City, to immediately report it or take it off the shelves, and to report back to the Keelung City Health Bureau. If shop employees or members of the public know that a business is using problem oil products, they can report it, which not only safeguards food safety and hygiene, but also allows the reporter to receive 5 to 10% of the fine as a reward.
The Keelung City Health Bureau said that on September 5, the FDA published a list of 235 downstream companies of Strong Crown, one of which was the "Keelung Scallion Oil Shop." According to information provided by Strong Crown, since March of this year, the quantity of "Quan Tong Fragrant Lard" shipped to the Keelung Scallion Oil Shop was 1,288 barrels.
But when the Keelung City Health Bureau went to the site for inspection that day, that batch of oil could no longer be found; according to the return receipt submitted by the business, only 83 barrels had been accepted for return on September 4. When inspectors asked about the sales flow, the business kept claiming that the Quan Tong Fragrant Lard and fried scallion crisp were sold in bulk, by cash transaction, to snack stalls and other casual customers, with no transaction receipts. When inspectors tracked the recovery situation of the "Keelung Scallion Oil Shop," they found that the business was suspected of concealing downstream manufacturer information, and it will be fined NT$30,000 to NT$3 million under Article 47 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.
Feng Runlan, director of the Northern Regional Management Center of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Food and Drug Administration, pointed out that for businesses selling illegal oil products, and downstream businesses evading investigation, a strict policy of "one offense, one penalty, with heavier punishment" will be adopted. The Kaohsiung City Health Bureau has already fined Strong Crown NT$50 million and frozen the account under the name of Strong Crown's vice president surnamed Dai. The main suspect, Guo Liecheng, suspected of refining swill oil and dead livestock oil, was detained and held incommunicado on the 5th, and his property was seized and frozen.
Feng Runlan then said that downstream businesses that fail to report on their own initiative or do not provide correct and complete information and thus evade investigation will be fined NT$30,000 to NT$3 million. At present, 15 businesses have not yet cooperated with the inspection, and the total amount of fines is expected to be NT$24.6 million; they will also be referred to the judicial authorities.
As for the matter of Strong Crown being reported to have imported industrial lard from Hong Kong, Feng Runlan said that since the 100th year of the Republic of China, food and raw materials must be imported only after passing inspection by the FDA in accordance with the "Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation" and the "Regulations Governing Inspection of Imported Food." Upon investigation, the lard imported by Strong Crown from GLOBAL CORP LTD in Hong Kong had inspection documents that, as required, attached a report from the Hong Kong notary company EAGLE VIEW COMPANY LIMITED under Hong Kong's "Taipei Economic and Cultural Office" (Chung Hwa Travel Service in Hong Kong) stating it was suitable for human consumption.
Feng Runlan said that as to the actual source of this batch of lard imported from Hong Kong, assistance has now been requested from the "Centre for Food Safety of the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department" for further investigation. However, according to a Central News Agency report, Dr. Ho Yuk-yin, consulting doctor of the Hong Kong Centre for Food Safety, said that Hong Kong's Kimbouyun Company made false declarations when exporting oil to Taiwan, declaring feed oil that could only be for animal consumption as oil fit for human consumption, and sold a total of 87.7 metric tons of lard to Strong Crown in March and May of this year. The entire incident may involve criminal prosecution, and the swill oil scandal has expanded from Taiwan to Hong Kong.
