In the wake of the cooking oil scandal causing widespread anxiety about food safety over the past two months, government officials have vowed to work hard to regain consumer confidence.
At a news conference with foreign media on Monday, Executive Yuan spokesman Sun Lih-chyun (孫立群) said that, unlike previous scandals, the latest food safety scare involved more than one cooking oil producer and its impact has been more widespread.
Sun vowed that the government would not shy away from the problem, saying that different agencies are setting targets and working together to crack down on food safety violators and rebuild consumer confidence.
Vice Minister of the Ministry of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) said that due to the tainted oil scare, the domestic food industry is expected to lose NT$17.7 billion (US$578.73 million) this year, NT$6.38 billion of which will be down to lost food exports, or about 7.5 percent of the total.
In addition, since the scandal erupted, 11 countries have blocked or banned Taiwanese food products or taken them off store shelves, Shen said.
He said the ministry has asked its overseas offices to explain to their host countries how Taiwan is dealing with the problem and invite high-quality Taiwanese food manufacturers to stage food exhibitions at home and overseas to rebuild the nation’s reputation for food.
He also said that state-controlled petroleum refiner CPC Corp, Taiwan is studying how to turn waste cooking oil into fuel, which could prevent 70,000 tonnes of waste oil from falling into the hands of rogue oil producers every year.
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