Kaohsiung identifies 20 businesses using tainted cooking oil, orders recalls

Kaohsiung City officials have identified 20 businesses across the food service and processing sectors that incorporated problematic cooking oil sourced from Zhonglian Grease. The city's health bureau has mandated that these establishments immediately remove the affected products from sale and offer full refunds to customers.

Mayor Chen Chi-mai has instructed that any processed food confirmed to contain the tainted oil must be taken off the shelves. The health bureau is conducting a thorough investigation to ascertain the extent of the problem among third-tier and subsequent vendors, ensuring that contaminated products do not reach consumers. This action follows the discovery of issues with Zhonglian Grease's soybean salad oil.

As of Tuesday, the investigation has traced the oil's flow to 30 downstream businesses. Among these, 3 companies supplied by Weiyi Enterprise and 12 supplied by Mingde Food have been confirmed to have used the problematic oil. An additional 5 oil vendors, manufacturers, and eateries were also identified, bringing the total to 20 confirmed users of the tainted oil based on batch numbers.

The city has reported the recovery of 3,551.7 liters of the problematic oil. The food safety task force, in collaboration with the Kaohsiung City Investigation Bureau, has inspected 1,222 locations, including farmers' markets, food courts, restaurants, and night markets. So far, 356 newly inspected locations have not been found to be using the tainted oil.

Authorities emphasize that food safety is paramount to public health. The task force will continue to strengthen inspections of food service establishments and markets to protect consumer safety and prevent the circulation of unsafe products. Information regarding the issue is available on the health bureau's official website and Facebook page.