Affected by the oil issue in Beihai, Watami and Mr.Onion were also found to be non-compliant.
Beihai Fats and Oils is suspected of using feed oil, and the well-known Japanese restaurant chain "Watami," the high-priced onion steakhouse "Mr. Onion," and "Gourmet Dim Sum House" have also been implicated. The New Taipei City Health Department issued a press release in the evening stating that Beihai Fats and Oils shipped goods to Gourmet Food Ingredients Distribution Company, which then sold them to these three businesses, with total purchases of 1,230 kg and returns of 111 kg.
The New Taipei City Health Department stated that these 3 businesses had all used the "Old-Fashioned Fragrant Lard" manufactured by Beihai Fats and Oils. "Taiwan Watami Food and Beverage Company" used this lard to season its "Watami Ramen" and "Taiping Yan," purchasing a total of 105 kg and returning 22.5 kg.
"Tianmu Onion Company" used it to make "salmon fried rice," purchasing a total of 975 kg and returning 43.5 kg; "Gourmet Dim Sum House" used it for its "crab shell pastry" product, purchasing 150 kg and returning 45 kg. All three businesses reported voluntarily in accordance with regulations.
Dioxin test results expected as early as next Monday
The Ministry of Health and Welfare also again updated the list of downstream items from Beihai Fats and Oils, increasing it from 68 items yesterday to 81 items, with a total of 62,606 kg removed from shelves. Chiang Yu-mei, acting director-general of the Food and Drug Administration, stated that problematic products must be voluntarily reported and removed from shelves by 12 midnight tonight. The health department will supervise the sealing and inventory count, after which they will be comprehensively destroyed, and there should be no concern about them flowing back into the market; however, the speed of destruction will depend on the administrative plans of each local health department.
As for whether the Vietnamese feed oil contains dioxin, Lee Chun-chang, director of the Environmental Trace Toxic Substances Research Center at National Cheng Kung University, which is responsible for testing, told the media that 20 samples would be analyzed with overtime work this weekend, and results would be available as early as next Monday. Chiang Yu-mei said that if National Cheng Kung University provides the report earlier, it will be announced earlier, but it may need to undergo re-testing and confirmation, so no exact announcement time can be promised.
Appendix: 1107 List of downstream items from Beihai Fats and Oils published by the Ministry of Health and Welfare