Justice lard suspected of being mixed with feed oil, FDA orders removal from shelves
The tainted oil scandal has yet to come to an end. The Tainan District Prosecutors Office, following up on the case, found that Wu Rong-he, former division chief of Zheng-Yi Food Company under Ting Hsin International Group, is suspected of purchasing feed oil from 3 businesses and falsely claiming it was edible lard, which he then sold to Zheng-Yi. Products including Wei Lih clear lard, Wei Lih fragrant lard and Zheng-Yi fragrant lard are all suspected of being contaminated. The Tainan District Prosecutors Office has detained Wu Rong-he with a ban on visits and communications. The Food and Drug Administration has required that the three oil products be taken off shelves first, but the contaminated batch numbers and manufacturing dates have not yet been clarified.
Wu Rong-he is a former division chief of Zheng-Yi Food Company and also heads Xin Hao Enterprise. The Tainan District Prosecutors Office stated that Wu Rong-he is suspected of having bought feed oil from 3 manufacturers starting in 2012, purchasing 424 tonnes between February and May of this year, falsely claiming it was edible oil and selling it to his former employer. Zheng-Yi then made it into 2.4-litre and 18-litre "Wei Lih clear lard", "Wei Lih fragrant lard", "Zheng-Yi fragrant lard", 15 kg barrel-packed lard, 180 kg refined lard products, animal-formula baking fats and customised products, and sold them to major chain stores.
On the morning of 6 October, the Tainan District Prosecutors Office went to Wu Rong-he's residence and factory to search and collect specimens. After summoning 20 people in succession, prosecutors determined that Wu Rong-he was a major suspect, suspected of fraud under Article 339, Paragraph 1 of the Criminal Code, and of illegally adulterating edible oil with feed oil and manufacturing oil products not proven to be harmless under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation. He was arrested in court on the night of 7 October, and the Tainan District Prosecutors Office applied to the Tainan District Court, Taiwan, China, for detention with a ban on visits and communications, which was granted.
Jiang Yu-mei, Acting Director-General of the Food and Drug Administration, said that during the earlier investigation into gutter oil, it was found that Xin Hao Enterprise was one of Zheng-Yi's suppliers. Lard has a short shelf life, and the Tainan and Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Offices are currently clarifying the distribution flow, manufacturing dates and batch numbers. Before this is clarified, the three oil products must be taken off shelves first, and stock must not be manufactured or sold. However, only a press release from the District Prosecutors Office has been received so far, with no official internal information; further news will be announced when available.
She pointed out that during the earlier investigation into gutter oil, about 8 manufacturers provided information, and Zheng-Yi was one of them. By jurisdiction, Zheng-Yi Food Company is mainly investigated by the Tainan District Prosecutors Office, the Kaohsiung District Prosecutors Office, the Chiayi District Prosecutors Office and the Pingtung District Prosecutors Office.
The Tainan District Prosecutors Office stated that prosecutor Chou Meng-hsiang of the Tainan District Prosecutors Office received the tip-off from the food and drug safety liaison platform, and instructed the Tainan City Investigation Office of the Ministry of Justice Investigation Bureau, the prosecutorial affairs officers of the Tainan District Prosecutors Office case support centre, and judicial police to gather evidence.