Food and Drug Administration: Ting Hsin has not inspected its Vietnam plant in the past three years; in response to the crisis, tariffs on imported lard have been sharply lowered

Ting Hsin is suspected of importing DAI HANH PHUC (Chinese translation: Dai Hanh Phuc Co., Ltd.) feed oil from Vietnam and selling it into the food market. The Food and Drug Administration admitted that Ting Hsin imported 7 batches of Vietnamese oil this year and sampled it once, with the result passing, but Feng Runlan, director of the FDA's Regional Management Center, said that to determine whether it is feed grade or food grade, both testing and documentation must be used together. It is now clarifying the authenticity of the Vietnamese notarized documents, and in the future, imports of Vietnamese oils and fats will no longer accept certificates from private notary firms; they must be issued by official authorities.

On October 9, the FDA received a reply from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from Vietnam's Ministry of Industry and Trade stating that the fat and oil products exported by DAI HANH PHUC are only for feed use, not for food. However, the day before yesterday Ting Hsin produced documents from a Vietnamese notary firm to protest its innocence, saying they stated it was suitable for human use, and prosecutors and investigators are investigating.

The FDA said today that the current border sampling rate for oil products is 5%. Ting Hsin imported 7 batches of Vietnamese oil this year and had one sample taken, which passed, and the documentation also showed it was food grade.

When a reporter asked whether this meant border inspection had failed, Feng Runlan protested strongly: "I completely disagree." He said that currently imported oils and fats must be accompanied by certificates, and the FDA samples at a rate of 5%, "which is already considered high worldwide." Testing only for heavy metals, antioxidants, and aflatoxins cannot fully ensure whether it is food grade or feed grade; a certificate of origin must also be attached. For countries where problems have occurred, such as China's Hong Kong and Macao and Vietnam, manufacturers will be required to attach official certificates, and documents from private notary firms will no longer be accepted.

FDA: Ting Hsin has never inspected a factory in Vietnam in the past 3 years

Ting Hsin and the FDA's accounts do not match, and prosecutors and investigators are currently investigating. But regarding manufacturers often positioning themselves as innocent victims, Chiang Yu-mei believes that businesses have a responsibility to provide safe and reputable products to customers. They cannot ensure a product is compliant merely based on a piece of paper or by placing an order over the phone; they should personally go to the source factory. "The government should not have to guarantee it for you; many foreign manufacturers also come to Taiwan to inspect factories." He said that Ting Hsin has never gone to Vietnam to inspect a factory in these 3 years.

Ting Hsin announces it is voluntarily shutting down factories; FDA slaps back: it was told to shut down

Ting Hsin Group's Wei Ying-chung publicly bowed and apologized yesterday for the first time, and said it would close the two oil plants in Kaohsiung and Pingtung. It looked like a "voluntary shutdown," but the FDA and health bureau dealt a hard slap. Chiang Yu-mei said that on the 9th it received documents from Vietnam's industry and trade office, on the 10th the Kaohsiung Health Bureau demanded the plant be shut down, and on the 11th it was delivered to the Ting Hsin factory. The Kaohsiung Health Bureau stated directly that Ting Hsin had not voluntarily shut down the plant at all.

Pig lard tariff temporarily lowered from 20% to 10%

Ting Hsin has already been ordered by the FDA to stop production, which may hit the domestic pig lard market. Premier Jiang Yi-huah held a special meeting yesterday and said that imports of pig lard will be expanded, and the tariff rate on imported pig lard will be temporarily adjusted downward in the short term, from the current 20% to 10%, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs will be asked to issue a document tomorrow.

At present, Taiwan's largest source of pig lard imports is Spain, followed by Japan, China's Hong Kong and Macao, and others. But how can the safety of imported pig lard be ensured? Chiang Yu-mei said that in addition to requiring official certificates, it will also confirm that the source manufacturer has facilities for producing food-grade oils and fats.

Because feed pig lard is currently tariff-free while edible pig lard is subject to 20%, unscrupulous traders have been scheming. Jiang Yi-huah said he will instruct Minister Without Portfolio Chiang Ping-huang and relevant ministries including the Ministry of Finance, the Council of Agriculture, and the Ministry of Economic Affairs to study whether to re-set the relevant tax rates. Next week, the Legislative Yuan's Economics Committee has also scheduled Thursday to amend the "Feed Management Act."

Businesses that purchased Ting Hsin's Vietnamese oil must report voluntarily by midnight today

The feed oil Ting Hsin is suspected of importing from Vietnam was made into 31 oil products last year and 23 items this year. Shops that used them in the past 2 years must report the product name, specifications, batch number, and expiration date, quantity, and so on to the local health bureau by midnight today, and must remove them from shelves by Tuesday. Violators will be fined 6 to 50 million yuan.

In addition, Ting Hsin's subsidiary Cheng I, is suspected of buying feed oil from Hsin Hao as edible oil. The FDA statistics show that as of 9 a.m. today, health bureaus around the country have reported a total of 167 finished products, and 265,520 kg have been voluntarily removed from shelves.

(What the Ministry of Health and Welfare publishes is the business name; the products or brands it made must be searched on Google again using the business name)

Using Hsin Hao: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9A8MytAW5WQT3lNOV9LbG5lckU/view?usp=sharing
Not using Hsin Hao: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9A8MytAW5WQNFdRZzhaNXlzbzQ/view?usp=sharing