TFDA releases findings on Central Union cooking oil contamination

Taipei, July 27 (CNA) The Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) on Monday released the findings of an independent investigation into the cause of carcinogen benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) contamination in seven batches of cooking oil produced by Central Union Oil Corp.

The contamination came to light in late June after soybean-based cooking oil produced by the company was found to contain excessive levels of BaP, a Group 1 carcinogen, a classification for substances with sufficient evidence of carcinogenicity in humans. More than 13,000 businesses were affected.

Presenting the investigation results at a TFDA news conference, Minister Without Portfolio Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said the contamination resulted from a combination of management failures, including inadequate controls for high-risk raw materials, weaknesses in production process management and insufficient inspection and testing.

The investigation, conducted by an expert panel convened by the Food Industry Research and Development Institute, identified three main problems.

First, high-risk raw materials were not properly managed, the TFDA said.

Ingredients with higher contamination risks should be subject to stricter controls at every stage of production, inspection and testing, it said.

Wei Jen-ting (魏任廷), head of the TFDA's Southern Center, said tests showed that oil produced from soybeans imported from Brazil was more likely to contain BaP than oil made from U.S.-imported soybeans. Contamination levels also varied among shipments.

Despite the higher risks, Central Union did not strengthen oversight of those raw materials, increase testing frequency or put appropriate production controls in place, increasing the likelihood of excessive BaP contamination, Wei said.

Second, production irregularities were not adequately addressed.

Wei said the investigation found no direct evidence that the production process or equipment generated BaP.

However, the company failed to take timely corrective action after multiple production parameters exceeded quality control limits. It also did not establish procedures for adjusting production in response to elevated risks, he said.

Third, the company's food safety risk management was insufficient.

Wei said the company failed to include BaP in its food safety management system for comprehensive risk identification, assessment and control.

Although it relaxed quality control standards for higher-risk raw materials, it did not increase testing of either ingredients or finished products, he said.

The expert panel recommended that food manufacturers strengthen risk management for raw materials, improve monitoring of production processes and expand testing to enhance food safety and risk control, Wei added.

After the contamination was discovered, authorities on July 9 ordered all products linked to soybean oil produced by Central Union between April and June to be pulled from shelves as a precaution while comprehensive testing was conducted.

Of the 30 production batches covered by the recall, seven failed to meet food safety standards, one had been exported and could not be sampled, and the remaining 22 complied with regulations, including three that had never been shipped to downstream customers.

The Executive Yuan on July 23 approved draft amendments to the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation and sent them to the Legislature for review. The proposed revisions seek to strengthen food safety oversight by enhancing source management, production process controls, abnormality reporting, quality management, reporting of test results and digital governance.