Taichung Mayor Criticized Over Handling of "Toxic Oil" Scandal

Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen faces criticism for joining a protest in Taipei against "toxic oil" while her administration is accused of insufficient oversight of a local company implicated in a carcinogen scandal. The controversy centers on Zhonglian Oil, a company based in Taichung, which has been linked to carcinogenic substances in its products.

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True food safety is not about passionate speeches after an incident erupts, but about administrative actions before the event.

The Taiwan Association of University Professors (TAUP) pointed out that Health Minister Shih Chung-liang noted Lu's administration had only actively tested Zhonglian Oil for benzopyrene once in nearly eight years. Despite this, Mayor Lu traveled to Taipei to participate in the anti-toxic oil rally. TAUP argues that food safety transcends political divides and demands proactive administrative action, not just impassioned speeches after an incident occurs.

"True food safety is not about passionate speeches after an incident erupts, but about administrative actions before the event," TAUP stated, urging Lu to account for her administration's eight-year record on source management. The association questioned the adequacy of Taichung's inspections, noting that while public records show six inspections of Zhonglian Oil between 2022 and 2025, only one involved actual oil sampling in April 2024. Most other checks were for Good Hygiene Practices (GHP), raising concerns about whether risk-based management was effectively implemented for high-risk oil producers.

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Mayor Lu Shiow-yen, as the Mayor of Taichung City, should clearly present the report card on source management over the past 8 years.

In response, the Taichung City Government acknowledged that the incident exposes the complexities of the food supply chain and suggests that current local government methods of inspecting businesses and tracing supply chains may need enhancement. The city government has proposed recommendations to the central government through a "Mayors' Online National Conference Against Toxic Oil," seeking reforms to improve inspection efficiency and capacity nationwide. TAUP, however, insists that the public expects concrete results from administrative procedures, not just political slogans, especially concerning food safety.

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This problem oil incident highlights the complexity of the food supply chain, and the current method of local governments inspecting businesses one by one and tracing layer by layer clearly has room for improvement.