Taipei: Central Union Oil Corp. has been fined NT$165.2 million (US$5.2 million) for not immediately reporting that its soybean oil was found to contain excessive levels of the carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP). It was the largest fine ever imposed by a central government agency in a food safety case, the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MOHW) said Tuesday.
According to Focus Taiwan, Health Minister Shih Chung-liang stated that an investigation found Central Union had not promptly notified authorities of the problem and had provided inaccurate information during the probe. The company was penalized under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation. The fine, calculated based on the severity of the violation and the impact of the tainted product's distribution, represented the maximum possible penalty. Central Union's soybean oil contained 8.1 micrograms per kilogram of BaP, surpassing Taiwan's legal limit of 2 ppb.
Approximately 1,300 metric tons of the tainted soybean oil produced by Central Union entered the supply chain through three downstream companies: Taisun Enterprise Co., Fwusow Industry Co., and Formosa Oilseed Processing Co. A recall of Central Union's problematic oil and the products made by the three companies using the tainted oil was ordered on July 1, but by July 3, only 17 metric tons had been recovered.
On July 4, the recall was expanded to further downstream products containing at least 20 percent of the affected oil. On Tuesday, Shih announced that the recall order had been expanded again to cover all downstream products made with the tainted oil, regardless of the proportion used. This means any product using soybean oil from the tainted batch will be removed from circulation.
Shih revealed that the investigation found reporting issues throughout the process, including by the Namchow Group, Fwusow, and Taisun. Namchow was the first company to discover excessive BaP levels through its own testing on May 13, but it failed to immediately notify health authorities after receiving the test results. The MOHW stated that Namchow notified Fwusow of the abnormal test results on June 10, and Fwusow informed Central Union the following day. Central Union conducted further tests on June 16 and June 25, received confirmation of abnormal results on June 29, and reported the issue to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration on June 30.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Cheng Ying-yao said Tuesday that 165 schools had reported using some of the affected oil products. All schools have been instructed to stop using the products and remove them as a precaution. The Ministry of Education noted that 18 cities and counties confirmed their schools had not used the affected oil, while authorities in Taipei, New Taipei, Taichung, and Keelung reported the use of the products by some schools in their cities.