Second camellia oil maker suspended over carcinogen; source questioned

Taipei, Aug. 1 (CNA) A second camellia oil maker in Taiwan has been ordered to halt operations after excessive levels of benzo[a]pyrene (BaP), a known carcinogen, were detected in its products, while the source of its raw materials remains unverified.

Yuan Chuen oil mill in Chiayi County was shut down after Yuen Foong Yu Biotech Co. and Internation Functional Food Co. reported to the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) on Wednesday and Friday, respectively, that their own testing had detected BaP in their camellia oil products.

Yuen Foong Yu Biotech reported that a batch of its 250 ml bottles of camellia oil, made by Yuan Chuen and sold under the brand of retailer Green & Safe, contained a BaP concentration of 2.9 micrograms per kilogram (μg/kg), exceeding Taiwan's legal limit of 2 μg/kg, the TFDA said Saturday.

Internation Functional reported a batch of its 500 ml camellia oil supplied by the mill contained a BaP concentration of 2.6 μg/kg, the TFDA said in a statement.

Following the reports, the Chiayi County Health Bureau ordered Yuan Chuen to halt operations and suspended sales of its self-branded items until the issue is resolved, the TFDA said.

Subsequent inspections of inventory from Dynas International Corp., another Green & Safe supplier, detected BaP levels of 2.6 and 2.4 micrograms per kilogram across two batches of 250 ml bottles of camellia oil, which were also manufactured by Yuan Chuen, it said.

Meanwhile, Yuan Chuen used the same tea seed batch to produce 250 ml bottles of camellia oil branded by Nice Foods Co., Ltd., according to the TFDA statement.

Local authorities have ordered the products in question to be pulled from shelves, according to statements from local governments.

Potential cause

The products were marketed as locally sourced, but the TFDA said Yuan Chuen has yet to provide documentation to verify the origin of the raw materials.

Last week, New Taipei-based Aconpure Green Technology Inc. was ordered by local authorities to suspend operations after the company voluntarily reported on July 21 that several batches of its camellia oil products exceeded Taiwan's legal limit for BaP.

Approached by reporters later Saturday, Health Minister Shih Chung‑liang (石崇良) said it was strongly suspected that the tea seed materials used by Yuan Chuen originated in China, where he noted that the legal limit for BaP in cooking oil is 10 ug/kg.

Shih said the BaP, typically a byproduct of intense thermal processing, likely resulted from the tea seed drying stage, as the subsequent oil-pressing phase is not a high-heat procedure.

According to Shih, camellia oil occupies 0.1 percent of the domestic cooking oil market, with over 95 percent of the raw materials sourced from overseas.

Company response

Via a statement, Yuan Chuen said the cause and source of the contamination are under investigation by the local health bureau.

Yuan Chuen said it has complied with authorities' orders to suspend operations and notified distributors to withdraw all affected products, adding that products sold that were produced between December 2025 and July 2026 were eligible for refunds.

Under scrutiny

Last month, Taiwan's cooking oil industry came under scrutiny after Central Union Oil Corp., a major soybean-based oil producer, was found to have produced oil with BaP levels four times the legal limit, prompting widespread product recalls.

An investigation launched by the Executive Yuan concluded that the contamination stemmed from a series of oversight failures, such as poor management of high-risk raw materials, flaws in processing protocols, and a lack of rigorous testing and inspection measures.