Wei Chuan Foods Corp’s (味全食品工業) new chairman yesterday vowed to take bold measures to win back the public’s trust over the safety of its food.
“I hope to lead Wei Chuan back on the right track, with four major directions: raising business ethics, launching a complete food traceability system, improving information disclosure, and corporate social responsibility [CSR],” new Wei Chuan chairman Jason Lee (李鳳翱) told a press conference at the company’s headquarters in Taipei.
Lee, 51, served as chairman of the Consumers’ Foundation in 2005 and 2006.
Photo: CNA
Wei Chuan’s board yesterday approved Lee’s appointment to replace Wei Ying-chun (魏應充), who stepped down last month after the company, its parent company — Ting Hsin International Group (頂新國際集團) — and its affiliated companies were all found to be selling cooking oils made with ingredients unfit for human consumption.
In September, Wei Chuan was forced to recall several of its oil products after they were found to contain recycled cooking oil and oil extracted from industrial grease.
Meanwhile, Cheng I Food Co (正義股份) had been selling 68 lard-based edible oils containing oil meant for use in animal feed and Wei Chuan had used some of those oils in products sold under its own brand.
The discovery sparked outrage, leading consumers to stage a boycott of Ting Hsin and Wei Chuan products.
While expecting Lee to lead the company’s reform in food traceability management and information disclosure, Wei Chuan’s board also elected four new members, after the Wei (魏) family agreed to completely give up their management rights in the firm, a move that is in line with the company’s previous announcement and market expectations.
Shih Hsin University vice principal Chen Ching-ho (陳清河), Taipei Medical University pharmacy professor Cheng Hui-wen (鄭慧文) and National Open University public administration associate professor Johnson Shen (沈中元) took over three board seats vacated by Wei Ying-chiao (魏應交), the second son of the Wei family, Wei Hung-ming (魏宏名), son of Wei Ying-chou (魏應州), the eldest of the four Wei brothers, and Taiwan FamilyMart Co (全家便利商店) chairman Pan Chin-ting (潘進丁), who represented the Wei family and stepped down last month.
Wei Chuan’s board also elected accountant Charles Chen (陳永清) as one of the two supervisors in the 11-member board, which has nine directors.
Chen replaced Frank Lin (林清棠), vice president of Tingyi (Cayman Islands) Holding Corp (康師傅控股), which is best known for its Master Kong brand and is also owned by the Wei family.
The Wei family still holds a 40.4 percent stake in Wei Chuan.
However, Lee said the Wei family has promised him complete run of the firm’s management, with no interference or resistance to the new Wei Chuan board’s operations.
“I will never be a rubber stamp or puppet” of the Wei family, Lee said.
Wei Chuan’s stock surged by the daily limit of 7 percent yesterday to close at NT$28.2 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange.
Additional reporting by CNA
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent and US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer began talks with high-ranking Chinese officials in Switzerland yesterday aiming to de-escalate a dispute that threatens to cut off trade between the world’s two biggest economies and damage the global economy. The US delegation has begun meetings in Geneva with a Chinese delegation led by Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng (何立峰), Xinhua News Agency said. Diplomats from both sides also confirmed that the talks have begun, but spoke anonymously and the exact location of the talks was not made public. Prospects for a major breakthrough appear dim, but there is
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS