Premier Jiang Yi-huah (江宜樺) has demanded that Cabinet officials ensure food products containing illegal cooking oil are removed from shelves by tomorrow, Executive Yuan spokesperson Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) told a press conference yesterday.
The conference followed a meeting called by Jiang to discuss measures in response to the latest food safety scare sparked by the use of oil recycled from various sources, such as discarded kitchen waste and grease used to clean leather, being mixed in with cooking oil.
Jiang instructed the Ministry of Health and Welfare to release as soon as possible a thorough list of all food items manufactured by 235 food companies that have purchased the problematic oil, branded as “Chuan Tung fragrant lard oil” from Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), Sun said.
Photo: CNA
Chang Guann Co was one of the food manufacturers found to have blended oil recycled by an unlicensed factory in Pingtung County with lard oil. The factory also sold tainted oil to Ching Wei Co, an animal feed manufacturer.
Jiang has ordered that all the products on the list be taken off store shelves and sealed by tomorrow, Sun said.
Sun quoted Jiang as saying that the Ministry of Justice and related authorities must doggedly trace the sources of the tainted oil and their distribution channels and punish those responsible severely, in accordance with the Act Governing Food Sanitation (食品衛生管理法), the Waste Disposal Act (廢棄物清理法), the Feed Control Act (飼料管理法) and the Criminal Code.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Jiang said he felt heart-wrenched over food manufacturers using inedible materials in conspiring for profits, according to Sun.
To set the public at ease, the Ministry of Health and Welfare, which has commissioned a group of experts to examine the health implications of consuming the illegal cooking oil, should reveal the results of its study once it is complete, Sun said.
Meanwhile, Jiang asked the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of National Defense to look into whether suppliers that provide meals to schools and the military also used the tainted cooking oil, Sun said.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and the Ministry of Finance were tasked with checking the transportation routes of the problematic cooking oil products and coming up with measures to handle issues concerning foreign trading partners, Sun said.
Taipei has once again made it to the top 100 in Oxford Economics’ Global Cities Index 2025 report, moving up five places from last year to 60. The annual index, which was published last month, evaluated 1,000 of the most populated metropolises based on five indices — economics, human capital, quality of life, environment and governance. New York maintained its top spot this year, placing first in the economics index thanks to the strength of its vibrant financial industry and economic stability. Taipei ranked 263rd in economics, 44th in human capital, 15th in quality of life, 284th for environment and 75th in governance,
The Sports Administration yesterday demanded an apology from the national table tennis association for barring 17-year-old Yeh Yi-tian (葉伊恬) from competing in the upcoming World Table Tennis (WTT) United States Smash tournament in Las Vegas this July. The sports agency said in a statement that the Chinese Taipei Table Tennis Association (CTTTA) must explain to the public why it withdrew Yeh from the WTT tournament in Las Vegas. The sports agency said it contacted the association to express its disapproval of the decision-making process after receiving a complaint from Yeh’s coach, Chuang
Control Yuan Secretary-General Lee Chun-yi (李俊俋) tendered his resignation last night, admitting that he had misused a government vehicle, as reported by media. His resignation was immediately accepted by the Control Yuan. In a statement explaining why he had resigned, Lee apologized for using a Control Yuan vehicle to transport his dog to a pet grooming salon on May 20. The issue first came to light late last month, when TVBS News reported that Lee had instructed his driver to take the dog to the salon. The news channel broadcast photos that it said were taken by an unnamed whistle-blower, which purportedly showed the
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or