Wei Chuan Foods Corp (味全食品工業) yesterday said it would take legal action against nine netizens who have claimed on various social media platforms that its milk products include harmful additives.
In a statement on its Web site, the company said it is declaring an “all-out war” against the allegations to restore the image and reputation of its Lin Feng Ying (林鳳營) milk brand.
Wei Chuan has been caught in an ongoing boycott of products made by subsidiaries of Ting Hsin International Group (頂新集團), which was found to have been selling tainted cooking oil last year.
Screen grab from Facebook
Public ire over the group’s activities was rekindled after Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co (頂新製油實業) executives were found not guilty of breaches of food safety laws late last month.
Consumer activists responded by launching a controversial anti-Ting Hsin campaign, exploiting a “no questions asked” refund policy offered by a number of foreign supermarket and hypermarket chains operating in Taiwan by buying Lin Feng Ying milk products in bulk, immediately opening the bottles then asking for refunds.
According to these stores’ policies, returned milk products are to be destroyed at the expense of Wei Chuan.
The campaign has sparked heated debates over food waste.
Costco has stood by its return policy, while Carrefour has ordered one of its outlets to remove a notice that the company retains the right to refuse unreasonable requests for product returns.
News that Wei Chuan plans to sue several netizens has once again stirred the proverbial hornet’s nest.
Droves of netizens checked the company’s Web site to see if they were on the litigation target list, with some sarcastically commenting that it was a shame they “did not hit the jackpot.”
Supporters of the potential defendants said the “heroes behind keyboards” should be saluted and Wei Chuan’s decision would only make its social image worse.
One netizen said that they thought the tens of thousands of posters on the Professional Technology Temple (PTT) — the nation’s largest academic online bulletin board — subforums would be sued, not that only nine would be singled out
Another poster said the protests were the right thing to do and that people should remain united, adding that if Ting Hsin bows to public pressure and gives out two cartons of milk for every carton bought, he would buy them to feed stray cats and dogs.
However, other posters on the subforums voiced support for Wei Chuan’s action, saying that taking legal action is an excellent decision as individuals who try to sow chaos and hide behind computers do not know when to stop.
Yu Kai-hsiung (游開雄), vice president of the non-profit Consumers’ Foundation, said that matters of food safety should focus on how the nation protects its people, rather than Internet opinions.
Founded in 1962, Wei Chuan was the first food company to be listed on the local bourse. It was acquired by Ting Hsin International Group in 1998.
The company reported a net loss of NT$581 million (US$17.6 million) in the third quarter, or losses of NT$1.15 per share.
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