Taoyuan prosecutors investigating a rotten egg scandal have questioned CJ-Taian Co (萇記泰安) owner Lee Chun-ming (李春明) over allegations that the firm supplied spoiled and contaminated liquid egg products to food manufacturers, hypermarkets and grocery stores.
The investigation of Lee and CJ-Taian, the nation’s second-largest egg supplier, began last month, when more than 28 tonnes of questionable egg products were seized by prosecutors and public health officials.
Authorities on Wednesday conducted a second round of raids, the Taoyuan District Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday, adding that Lee and eight CJ-Taian employees were on Thursday taken for questioning, with Lee later being released on bail of NT$2 million (US$68,726).
Photo: Wei Chin-yun, Taipei Times
Taoyuan prosecutor Wang Yi-wen (王以文) said the firm mixed unsold and expired eggs returned from stores with fresh eggs, and then repackaged the mixture in plastic containers with new labels bearing fraudulent expiration dates.
The mixture was then sold as a fresh liquid egg product to grocery stores, hypermarkets and food manufacturers, prosecutors said, adding that they would press fraud and forgery charges, along with breaches of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).
Wednesday’s raids of the company’s production facility and warehouse found eggs with dirty and broken shells, including moldy and rancid eggs and some that had been contaminated by insects or microbial growth, prosecutors said, providing photographs taken during the operation.
Photo: CNA, provided by the Taoyuan Department of Public Health
Taoyuan Department of Public Health officials said the company sold liquid egg product to 59 food manufacturers, including Kuai Kuai Co (乖乖食品), and the bakeries of hypermarket and supermarket chains.
The questionable liquid egg product was reportedly used in the production of Kuai Kuai’s cream-filled wafer rolls and Peacock Biscuits (孔雀餅乾), among its best-selling items.
“We are recalling our affected products from all stores and hope the judiciary will conduct a thorough investigation,” Kuai Kuai chairman Liao Ming-hui (廖明輝) said. “We want authorities to provide clear and definite guidelines for food products, otherwise these kinds of tainted food scandals will never end.”
Screengrab from the Internet
Kuai Kuai is a victim in the scandal and would fully cooperate with authorities in their investigation, Liao said, adding that it would take legal action against CJ-Taian.
RT-Mart (大潤發), one of the hypermarket chains that has reportedly been using the contaminated liquid egg product, released a statement to reassure its customers.
“We had already ceased all business with CJ-Taian, so we are not affected by this ‘moldy and spoiled egg case.’ At the moment, we do not have any egg products from CJ-Taian,” the statement said.
Prosecutors said they have filed applications with a local court to seize assets owned by Lee and his family, including five plots of land and six buildings, to prevent him and CJ-Taian from transferring assets elsewhere to avoid prosecution.
During last month’s initial investigation, Lee was released following questioning on bail of NT$3 million.
At the time, Taoyuan public health officials said CJ-Taian sold about 7 tonnes of liquid egg product per day, and that based on evidence gathered at that point, the public had likely been consuming contaminated eggs and derivative food products for the past six years.
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