By May Lin It all began on an ordinary day. You finish your work early and rush home to enjoy a nice supper. Dinner was already served when you arrived at the door: juicy roast chicken basted in hot chili sauce and potatoes with baked cheese topping. What a pleasant evening! You turn on the TV and nestle down into the sofa. However, it all becomes a screaming nightmare the moment you see the oil scandal on the screen. All of a sudden, your perfect meal turns into a toxic feast. And you start to wonder how long you have been ingesting these contaminants. This is how the disturbing food safety issues began in Taiwan. News of tainted oil was revealed in 2014, and what’s worse, the nightmare continues to rouse public panic. In November 2015, the notorious Ting Hsin company, who brought about the oil scandal, was found innocent and its executives freed from jail. This judgment roused great indignation and set fire to a barrage of protests and boycotts of Ting Hsin products. Serious oil scandals have occurred one after another, which have given rise to increased attention to the issue of food safety. But how did the whole tragedy begin? In 2013, the renowned oil corporation, Chang Chi Factory Foodstuff Co. (大統長基股份有限公司), was found to have produced fake oil which it claimed as high-end olive oil. For years, the company viciously adulterated its cooking oil with low-priced cottonseed oil. To improve the color saturation, an illegal coloring agent called copper chlorophyllin was also used. According to dietitians, cottonseed oil without refinement contains gossypol, which leads to infertility when excessively absorbed. A few days later, Flavor Full Food Inc. (富味鄉食品股份有限公司) likewise admitted to have blended cottonseed oil into their cooking oil to increase profits. The market share of Chang Chi Factory was so huge that practically every downstream firm was found to have used the oil for food processing. Moreover, the fact that Ting Hsin enterprise maliciously concealed its purchase of oil from Chang Chi Factory was brought to light. Eventually, the two heads of the company were sentenced to prison. However, it was only the beginning of an evil plot. Merely a year later, it was discovered that tainted oil was being produced by a Kaohsiung-based company, Chang Guann Co. (強冠企業), and branded as Chun Tung Fragrant Lard Oil (全統香豬油). The company was found to have purchased gutter and waste oil which included animal parts, fat, and skin. It then refined the waste oil before blending it into processed lard, and sold the tainted products to its distributors. Among the distributors, Ting Hsin was again on top of the list, which also enraged cusumers. However, the situation worsened when a unit of Ting Hsin was once again accused of selling tainted cooking oil in September 2015. After investigation, the prosecutors confirmed that Ting Hsin unit, Cheng-I Food Co.(正義股份有限公司), had mixed animal feed oil with cooking oil and sold it for human consumption. Since Cheng-I Food Co. has roughly an 80 percent share of the lard oil market, not to mention the fact that Ting Hsin owned famous brands such as Wei Chuan (味全) and Kang Shifu (康師傅), these scandals have effected many households and retailers in Taiwan and aroused public concern over domestic food safety. The public blamed the scandals on the government and urged stricter laws regarding food safety. Nevertheless, when god has his church, the devil will have his chapel. Companies can always bribe their way through the system. That is to say, customers themselves have to take food safety into their own hands. To save you from going into hysterics, here are some tips to avoid spoiled food:
As a Chinese saying goes, eating is the first priority. Eating well is central to Chinese culture. Despite these terrifying food safety issues, it is impossible to stop people from eating. According to the Homemakers United Foundation, we can rely on no one but ourselves to guarantee our health. Spend a few minutes to check the food you are eating and avoid products that are excessively manufactured. This is the best way to prevent yourself from being affected by another food scandal. a
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May 2024
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