Organic Camellia Oil Found with Excessive Benzo(a)pyrene; Sales Halted

New Taipei City's health bureau has ordered Lian Jing Green Technology Co. to immediately suspend operations and sales of its camellia oil products after the company's organic camellia oil was found to exceed the legal limit for benzo(a)pyrene. The company voluntarily reported the issue, stating that its product contained 2.9 μg/kg of the substance, surpassing the standard limit of 2.0 μg/kg. Lian Jing has already begun recalling the affected products from downstream vendors. According to the health bureau, the company produced a total of 5,024 cans of camellia oil. Of these, 939 cans of "organic camellia oil 250mL" (batch number: 26V224XW01) sold at Cotton Field Organic and "organic first-pressed camellia oil 250mL" (batch number: 26S624XW01) sold at Uni-President Supermarket were distributed. The remaining products have been sealed and have not yet been sold. The health bureau, in conjunction with the Food and Drug Administration, conducted an on-site inspection and collected five camellia oil samples for testing. The company must submit an improvement report and relevant data before it can resume operations and sales, adhering to guidelines for reducing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in food. Consumers who have purchased the affected products can contact Lian Jing's customer service for returns or exchanges.