Ting Hsin International Group’s (頂新集團) involvement in three food scandals in less than one year has prompted calls from netizens and civic groups for a boycott by consumers on the purchase of all goods and services offered by the company.
Cheng I Food Co (正義股份), a subsidiary of Ting Hsin, was this week found to be selling some lard-based oils for human consumption that had been mixed with low-quality oil meant for animal feed.
Last month, Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業), also a subsidiary of Ting Hsin, recalled 12 products that had been made with recycled kitchen waste and industrial grease.
Photo: CNA
In November, the group apologized for the use of oils marketed as pure which had been mixed with lower quality oils by a supplier.
Netizens yesterday listed all the products and services under the purview of Ting Hsin and called for the general public to refrain from using these products and services.
Meanwhile, the Taipei City Government announced late yesterday that all of the city’s public schools and their on-campus stores, as well as social education institutions, would stop selling food products made by Ting Hsin and Wei Chuan Food Corp (味全) on Monday.
The Greater Kaohsiung Government yesterday also directed all the city’s public schools to pull Ting Hsin products from the shelves, adding that the local government’s agencies would also stop using Ting Hsin products.
Yilan County Commissioner Lin Tsung-hsien (林聰賢) was the first to introduce such a measure by announcing on Thursday that the county government’s agencies and schools would no longer buy products from Ting Hsin.
Lin, a Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member, said access to healthy food was a basic human right and that the spate of food safety scandals in recent years has caused people to lose faith in the nation’s food industry.
He called for the nation’s food distributors and restaurants “not to sell or use” Ting Hsin products and for residents “not to buy, use or eat” anything made by the group or its subsidiaries.
Taiwanese singer Chang Chen-yue (張震嶽) yesterday criticized company bosses for the slew of food safety scandals and said they “were slowly murdering Taiwanese people.”
Director Chen Yu-hsun (陳玉勳) said in a Facebook post that voluntary workers had been tainted by remarks by Wei Ying-chun (魏應充) that he would become a voluntary worker after stepping down as chairman of Ting Hsin Oil, Cheng I and Wei Chuan Foods Corp.
Chen asked if volunteer work is the most contemptible job in the world, adding that Wei’s considerable personal wealth should be confiscated to help fund the National Health Insurance program.
It was bad enough that rich people were continuing to make money unethically, but it is worse that government officials actively cover for them, he added.
Additional reporting by Stacy Hsu and CNA
SHIPS, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES: The ministry has announced changes to varied transportation industries taking effect soon, with a number of effects for passengers Beginning next month, the post office is canceling signature upon delivery and written inquiry services for international registered small packets in accordance with the new policy of the Universal Postal Union, the Ministry of Transportation and Communications said yesterday. The new policy does not apply to packets that are to be delivered to China, the ministry said. Senders of international registered small packets would receive a NT$10 rebate on postage if the packets are sent from Jan. 1 to March 31, it added. The ministry said that three other policies are also scheduled to take effect next month. International cruise ship operators
HORROR STORIES: One victim recounted not realizing they had been stabbed and seeing people bleeding, while another recalled breaking down in tears after fleeing A man on Friday died after he tried to fight the knife-wielding suspect who went on a stabbing spree near two of Taipei’s busiest metro stations, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. The 57-year-old man, identified by his family name, Yu (余), encountered the suspect at Exit M7 of Taipei Main Station and immediately tried to stop him, but was fatally wounded and later died, Chiang said, calling the incident “heartbreaking.” Yu’s family would receive at least NT$5 million (US$158,584) in compensation through the Taipei Rapid Transit Corp’s (TRTC) insurance coverage, he said after convening an emergency security response meeting yesterday morning. National
PLANNED: The suspect visited the crime scene before the killings, seeking information on how to access the roof, and had extensively researched a 2014 stabbing incident The suspect in a stabbing attack that killed three people and injured 11 in Taipei on Friday had planned the assault and set fires at other locations earlier in the day, law enforcement officials said yesterday. National Police Agency (NPA) Director-General Chang Jung-hsin (張榮興) said the suspect, a 27-year-old man named Chang Wen (張文), began the attacks at 3:40pm, first setting off smoke bombs on a road, damaging cars and motorbikes. Earlier, Chang Wen set fire to a rental room where he was staying on Gongyuan Road in Zhongzheng District (中正), Chang Jung-hsin said. The suspect later threw smoke grenades near two exits
The Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency yesterday launched a gift box to market honey “certified by a Formosan black bear” in appreciation of a beekeeper’s amicable interaction with a honey-thieving bear. Beekeeper Chih Ming-chen (池明鎮) in January inspected his bee farm in Hualien County’s Jhuosi Township (卓溪) and found that more than 20 beehives had been destroyed and many hives were eaten, with bear droppings and paw prints near the destroyed hives, the agency said. Chih returned to the farm to move the remaining beehives away that evening when he encountered a Formosan black bear only 20m away, the agency said. The bear
RSS