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.
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
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