Taichung Mayor Accuses Central Government of Pressuring Over Toxic Oil; FDA Refutes Claims

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen has accused the central government of pressuring local authorities to downplay a toxic oil scandal. Lu claimed that the central government repeatedly pressured the city to "not investigate factories, not disclose sources, and not remove toxic oil." These accusations were made as the central government's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) refuted the mayor's statements with official documents.

Lu's administration, through its news bureau chief Luan Chih-yi, further alleged that the FDA's delayed announcement on July 7 to remove products with less than 20% of the problematic oil contributed to the expansion of the food safety storm. Luan stated that the FDA had been notified by the manufacturer on June 30 but waited seven days to issue the recall, ignoring repeated warnings from local governments and causing unnecessary panic among the public.

Luan also pointed to remarks by FDA Director-General Chiang Chih-kang, who reportedly said, "There's no need to go and see (the factory)." This statement, according to Luan, undermined the professional judgment of frontline investigators and demoralized grassroots law enforcement. The Taichung City Government emphasized that its inspections and investigations strictly followed the "Food Safety and Health Management Act," and that manufacturer self-testing is the primary legal inspection process. They also clarified that local government spot checks are not exhaustive, refuting claims that the city only focused on a single manufacturer.