Ministry of Health and Welfare: Li Minxiong was a mid-term expert in oil product research, not a final-term committee member

Flavorsome, a company known for its sesame oil, was exposed for producing a total of 28 oil products blended with cheap cottonseed oil and peanut flavoring, among other ingredients. The Ministry of Health and Welfare last year commissioned Meiho University of Science and Technology to study the labeling of packaged blended oils sold on the market. Lee Min-hsiung, professor emeritus in the Department of Agricultural Chemistry at National Taiwan University, also served as a supervisor, consultant and mid-term review committee member for Flavorsome, without any conflict-of-interest recusal. Wu Hsiu-ying, deputy director-general of the Food and Drug Administration under the Ministry of Health and Welfare, said this evening that Lee Min-hsiung attended the "mid-term expert meeting" in an "expert capacity," but was not on the list of "final report review committee members."

The FDA stressed that during testing for this report, relevant oil brands were referred to by code names, and Lee Min-hsiung was invited to take part in the mid-term expert meeting for that prior research, so there was no conflict-of-interest issue. But the FDA refused to disclose the list of review committee members for this study.

Lawyer: Little difference between mid-term expert and final-review member; both should avoid conflicts

Lawyer Chang Chih-kang argued that whether serving as a "final report review committee member" or in the "mid-term expert meeting," consideration should be given to the decision-making influence Lee Min-hsiung could have had at the time. The difference between these two roles is very small. To avoid outside doubts about the research results, the people selected should avoid scholars who have dealings with manufacturers as much as possible. If research institutions or government agencies cannot know the background of scholars' relationships with industry, scholars should also hold themselves to a higher standard.

Lee Min-hsiung: No conflict-of-interest issue

In an interview yesterday, Lee Min-hsiung insisted that he knew nothing at all about the production situation at the Flavorsome factory. He only took part in the sesame oil technology research and development process, and knew nothing about the factory mixing in cottonseed oil and other such practices. He also stressed: "I don't think there is a conflict-of-interest issue. I haven't taken any benefit; I only provided academic opinions, and I have already resigned from the position of company supervisor." As a company supervisor, did he really never notice anything abnormal about the volume of cottonseed oil imported and exported by Flavorsome? Lee Min-hsiung said: "I don't really understand financial statements, so I didn't pay attention."

Lee Min-hsiung also said that Flavorsome's oil labeling was untrue and that "if punishment is warranted, then punish." But cottonseed oil does no harm to the human body, and the media and the public have exaggerated it excessively. He said that refined cottonseed oil can already remove gossypol, and data released by the Ministry of Health and Welfare the night before also showed that no gossypol was detected in Flavorsome oil products with added cottonseed oil. "Cottonseed oil is a very major edible oil in the United States. Saying it causes infertility is too exaggerated." He stressed that this statement was made on the merits of the matter and had nothing to do with his serving as a consultant to Flavorsome.

Lee Min-hsiung says he will resign from all government research

NewsMarket called Lee Min-hsiung again yesterday but received no response. However, when he was interviewed by local media reporters at Chung Chou University of Science and Technology, he said he would resign from all government research projects. As for the related oil product issues, he asked the government to find legislators to provide brilliant insights; he would no longer offer opinions.