The Ministry of National Defense has dismissed reports that military personnel had consumed enormous amounts of the recycled lard oil at the center of the latest food safety scandal.
“The reports are by no means true,” the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry was responding to a report in the Chinese-language United Evening News, which on Friday said the amount of tainted oil consumed by the military is “hard to estimate.”
The report was referring to the oil produced by Chang Guann Co (強冠企業), a food oil manufacturer in Greater Kaohsiung, which has been found to have sold lard oil recycled from kitchen waste and byproducts from leather processing plants.
The ministry said military supply stations have not bought lard oil products from Chang Guann and that ingredients for the meals served to military personnel are mainly purchased from its supply stations, so there is no question of the amount being “hard to estimate.”
However, the ministry has ordered the military to take some food items sold in supply stations off the shelves, including several products made by Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業), which on Thursday night said it was recalling 12 products said to be made with the tainted oil.
The ministry also said that to ensure the health of military personnel, it would keep a close eye on related information published by the health authorities and ask for products to be removed if there are safety concerns.
The contaminated lard oil has made its way into many parts of the n ation, and the Food and Drug Administration has identified more than 230 domestic food companies and restaurants as having used recycled lard oil made by Chang Guann Co.
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