Taoyuan prosecutors indict 10 for sales of expired liquid eggs

Taipei, Sept. 4 (CNA) Taoyuan prosecutors on Wednesday indicted 10 suspects from three companies, including one of Taiwan's largest egg producers, for conspiring to sell expired and mislabeled liquid eggs to the public.

According to the indictment, the CEO of Taiwan's second-largest egg producer Rui Mu Foods Co., surnamed Wu (吳), conceived of the crime as a means of using up large quantities of expired eggs the company had in storage, some of which were already noticeably rotten.

Wu asked two subordinates to have two egg processing firms -- Chung Yi Agricultural Products Co. and Xin Ying Egg Products Technology Co. -- process the expired eggs into liquid eggs between March and October last year.

After receiving the finished product, Rui Mu Foods sold the expired liquid eggs to be used in baked goods and restaurants, prosecutors said.

Separate allegations in the indictment relate to the owner of Chung Yi Agricultural Products, also surnamed Wu (吳), whose firm had been commissioned to process fresh eggs imported by the National Animal Industry Foundation from Brazil and Thailand into liquid eggs, amid a nationwide egg shortage that Taiwan experienced in 2023.

In September of that year, Wu used mixed batches of imported and domestic eggs to make liquid eggs labeled as made in Taiwan, while also illegally adding seven days to their expiration date, prosecutors said.

In the indictment, the 10 suspects are charged with crimes including selling adulterated and expired foods under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, as well as aggravated fraud committed by three or more people, falsifying business records, and false labeling of merchandise under the Criminal Code.

Prosecutors also submitted a request to seize NT$42.91 million (US$1.33 million) in illicit profits from the three companies, including NT$40.03 million from Rui Mu Foods.