Hong Kong-based Globalway Corp (金寶運公司) allegedly exported oil meant only for use in animal feed under labels saying it was fit for human use to Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), a Greater Kaohsiung-based manufacturer at the center of a food safety scandal, Ho Yuk-yin (何玉賢), a consultant for Hong Kong’s Centre for Food Safety, said yesterday.
Taiwan’s bakeries and food plants were found recently to have used the tainted lard oil supplied by Chang Guann.
Ho told a news conference that the Centre for Food Safety had discovered from data provided by Taiwan that Globalway Co had exported 87.7 tonnes of lard provided by Po Yuen Grease Co (寶源油脂公司), a Hong Kong-based oil maker, in March and May.
However, the receipt Po Yuen Great Co had provided showed the product it sold was for animals only, while Globalway’s paperwork said the oil was tallow and safe for human use, Ho said.
The center’s preliminary investigation shows the method Globalway used to handle the transaction was problematic, and the center is consulting with lawyers on the matter, he said.
If the matter goes to court, the center is leaning toward pushing for a criminal investigation, Ho said.
In Taipei, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said earlier in the day that Chang Guann has imported 2,385 tonnes of lard from Hong Kong over the past six years.
FDA Northern Center for Regional Administration Director Feng Jun-lan (馮潤蘭) said initial communication with Hong Kong authorities has found that Globalway has exported lard to Chang Guann.
Although the FDA was established four years ago, it has only inspected the 87 tonnes of “edible” lard imported by Chang Guann this year, Feng said.
Checking older data, the FDA found that Chang Guann imported about 2,300 tonnes of lard between 2008 and 2011. Another old document located at the company shows that it imported more than 10 tonnes of lard from Hong Kong, but it was not clear if it was “edible” lard, officials said.
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