Expired seafood, chicken wings re-seasoned and relabeled for resale; gaps in near-expiry product management
Once again, expired food ingredients have had their labels tampered with and been resold! A joint investigation by the District Prosecutors Office and the Health Bureau found that Taichung-based Xiongxun Company had, over the past 3 years, altered the expiry dates of expired seasoning powders and then sold them to major chicken producer CP (Charoen Pokphand), which used them to make 10 products including fried bone-in thighs, roast chicken wings and salt-and-pepper chicken, which flowed to various retail channels. In New Taipei City, Yuyang International had long been altering the expiry dates of 33 expired frozen seafood items including tilapia fillets, shrimp and dried scallops. It is understood that the company's products may have flowed to well-known hotels such as the Howard Plaza and the Ambassador, as well as seafood restaurants in northern Taiwan, China, and the details are still under investigation by prosecutors.
It is not the first time that domestic operators have illegally recovered expired food and relabeled it. Local health chiefs believe that the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation is too loosely regulated: operators can not only set their own expiry dates, but can also set their own dates for remanufactured near-expiry food, and the regulations contain no scientific food-safety data to limit which foods may be remanufactured, which may not, or what storage methods make food ineligible for remanufacturing. This leads operators to take risks: some directly and illegally relabel expired goods, while others rush to remanufacture when only one day remains before expiry, creating a food-safety loophole.
Expired seasonings sold to major CP plant to make products
After the long-established vinegar brand "Kung Yen Vinegar" was exposed in September last year, admitting it had recovered expired black vinegar and miso, then remanufactured and relabeled them as new products for shipment, the New Taipei City and Taichung City authorities recently separately found that food operators in their jurisdictions had used the same tactics to sell expired seasoning powders and seafood products back into the market.
The person in charge of Taichung-based Xiongxun Company, suspected of violating the law, admitted that from March 103 (2014) to April this year, it had relabeled expired meat-enhancing seasoning powder, garlic extract, rosemary spice and soy milk powder, among others, and sold them to downstream operators. According to the investigation, the first three seasoning powders were supplied to Taiwan, China's CP to make 10 products including fried butterfly wing thighs, marinated crispy fried bone-in thighs, premium ham, grilled three-joint wings, grilled chicken wings, salt-and-pepper chicken and salt-and-pepper chicken dices, while the "soy milk powder" was sold to Kaohsiung City-based Wang Lai Xing Company.
In addition, Xiongxun also supplied 2576 kg of expired black tea powder to Dali Shicheng Company. Apart from 106 kg currently seized, 1407 kg had already been made into "Rich Three-in-One Milk Tea Instant Packs" for export to the United States.
The Taichung City Health Bureau recently went to the factory and sealed a total of 23 tonnes of food ingredients. On site, a bottle of "self-adhesive sticker remover" used for relabeling was also found. Health Bureau spokesperson Shi Ruiyi said that food past its expiry date easily undergoes deterioration and can harbor pathogenic bacteria. Powdered seasonings remanufactured by Xiongxun, for example, may easily absorb moisture, clump or cake, causing quality deterioration that could affect health and make them unsuitable for human consumption.
The meat products made from these expired seasonings after being sold to CP have an inventory of about 1.1 wan kg (11,000 kg). The Nantou Health Bureau has now asked the CP processing plant to suspend shipments, and downstream manufacturers that supplied products to channels such as RT-Mart, Carrefour and Ai-Mai have been notified to take them off the shelves.
Expired seafood relabeled and resold
In New Taipei City, the well-known aquatic products wholesaler Yuyang International altered 33 expired frozen seafood items, including tilapia fillets, mackerel and shrimp, and resold them to downstream operators. Today, during an inspection, the New Taipei City Health Bureau directly found stain remover oil, rags and other items suspected of being used to alter expiry dates in the on-site packaging work area, and immediately sealed 250 kg of frozen aquatic products at the site.
Liu Junhao, section chief of the New Taipei City Food and Drug Administration Section, said that on site they found not only expired aquatic products but also products without marked expiry dates. The suspected operator has been handed over to prosecutors and investigators. How long the operator had been illegally relabeling products, and whether the seafood really flowed to well-known hotels and seafood stores, still require further investigation to confirm.
