Zhonglian's Concealment of Oil Recall Batch Exposed Again; TFDA Imposes Additional NT$3 Million Fine

(Central News Agency reporter Shen Pei-yao, Taipei, 16th) Another case of malicious concealment has been uncovered in the Zhonglian tainted oil scandal. Today, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) announced that Zhonglian failed to report and register an oil batch (lot number 314-1150401) produced on April 1, despite a government order mandating a preventive recall of all Zhonglian products manufactured between April and June. As a result, in addition to the previous fine of NT$160 million, an additional penalty of NT$3 million has been imposed.

The 'soybean salad oil' produced by Zhonglian was found to contain benzopyrene, a carcinogen, exceeding safety limits. The Ministry of Health and Welfare discovered that Zhonglian had delayed reporting and provided false information during the investigation. Recently, under the Food Safety and Sanitation Management Act, a record-breaking fine of NT$165.2 million was issued—the highest in the history of central government penalties.

Now, Zhonglian has been caught again for concealment. Today, the TFDA announced through a press release that yesterday, it received a report from the Yilan County government health authorities, suspecting that a preventive recall product used an oil batch produced by Zhonglian in April that was not included in the original declaration.

TFDA Deputy Director-General Wang Te-yuan told the media that upon receiving the report, TFDA immediately dispatched personnel to investigate Zhonglian’s premises. On the afternoon of July 15, they confirmed that Zhonglian had produced oil on April 1 (lot number 314-1150401) but failed to include it in the reporting register for products manufactured from April to June.

Wang stated that Zhonglian once again failed to accurately record data as required by Article 9, Paragraphs 2 or 4 of the Food Safety Act, and submitted false information. Therefore, the TFDA has legally imposed the maximum penalty of NT$3 million.

“If further concealment, omissions, or other violations are discovered, we will penalize each instance as it is found,” Wang emphasized, adding that the TFDA will continue to investigate the distribution and recall status of this batch. (Edited by Li Heng-shan) 1150716