Three manufacturers have been punished for making tainted edible oil. The heavy punishment given by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Tuesday is a part of the government crackdown on substandard edible oil products.
FDA’s acting director Jiang Yu-mei said Kaohsiung’s health department issued its first fine notice on Monday to a manufacturer under the Ting Hsing International Group. The manufacturer must suspend operations indefinitely and was fined 50 million Taiwan dollars (US1.66 million) for mixing oil with substances hazardous to human health.
Meanwhile, two other manufacturers of edible oil in Chiayi had their operations suspended for six months and were fined 30 million Taiwan dollars (US$1 million) each for making tainted oil products.
Jiang said Taiwan has stopped importing lard from Hong Kong as well as lard and butter from Vietnam. All imported lard products will be strictly checked.
Also on Monday, the FDA said a total of 342 food products have been tainted by oil used in animal feed and will be removed from shelves.