Recalled products can be sold if they meet safety standards: TFDA

Taipei, July 14 (CNA) Products preemptively removed from store shelves due to a tainted cooking oil scandal can be put back up for sale to consumers if they meet food safety regulations, Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Tuesday.

A full recall of all products tied to soy-based cooking oil produced by Central Union Oil Corp. between early April and the end of June was ordered on July 9 as a precautionary measure after the company's oil was found to contain excessive levels of the carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP).

Central Union produced 29 batches of cooking oil during that time, though three were never sold and complied with food safety standards, said TFDA Deputy Director-General Wang Te-yuan (王德原).

The agency said in a statement that products linked to the five batches of cooking oil produced by Central Union that have been found to contain excessive levels of BaP are excluded from the reshelving process.

But recalled products tied to untainted batches of Central Union cooking oil that meet food safety standards may be returned to sale as long as their sources of oil or downstream products using the same batch of source oils also test negative for excessive BaP levels, the TFDA said.

Wang said that comprehensive testing of both source oils and finished products is the top priority at present.

For products supplied by Central Union and major food manufacturers Taisun Enterprise Co., Fwusow Industry Co. and Formosa Oilseed Processing Co., 52 source oil samples and 321 finished-product samples have been collected for testing by an independent third-party laboratory.

Results are expected within one week, the agency said.

Wang said that if any finished product fails to meet food safety standards, the corresponding source oil and all related finished products will not be allowed to be returned to store shelves, even if the source oil met the standards.

Separately, Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said Tuesday that the precautionary removal of products from shelves, intended to minimize food safety risks, affected a wide range of businesses and products.

The criteria for returning products to sale, meanwhile, reflect the concern for the rights of businesses and consumers, he said.

Several local governments have nevertheless expressed concerns about allowing products to return to shelves.

Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said Monday, before the TFDA announced its criteria, that products should not be returned to sale until the central government took certain steps.

He said the central government needed to clarify the source of the contamination, the distribution of the tainted oil, the proportion of products removed from shelves and whether all potential risks have been eliminated.

On Tuesday, New Taipei Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜) and Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) echoed Chiang's concerns, calling for greater clarity before any products are returned to shelves.

Hou further noted that concerns have been raised over possibly fraudulent test samples provided by Central Union.

Hou was referring to the central health authorities' decision to withhold test results for samples from Central Union's April-to-June production runs it submitted amid concerns that the company may have provided fraudulent samples.

To date, Central Union has been fined NT$165.2 million (US$5.2 million) for failing to immediately report excessive BaP levels in its soybean cooking oil.

The government has said that Central Union learned of the problem three weeks before it reported the contamination to the TFDA.

Meanwhile, prosecutors are investigating whether the company bears criminal liability in the case.