Taiwan minister: Contaminated oil recall was political decision, takes responsibility

Taiwan's Minister of Health and Welfare, Shih Chung-liang, has declared that the preventive recall of contaminated cooking oil was a "political decision" and asserted that he bears responsibility for it. The controversy centers on the Zhonglian (中聯) oil case, which has sparked conflict between central and local authorities.

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problematic oil was preventively taken off the shelves, this is a political decision, 'I bear the political responsibility'.

Shih explained that the standard for recalling oil containing 20% contamination was determined through scientific discussion based on expert meeting records. However, he noted that the subsequent decision for a comprehensive, preventive recall regardless of contamination level was a political one. He also called on the Taichung City Government to publicly release the complete meeting minutes from July 3, questioning why they proceeded with an inspection for Zhonglian's resumption of operations the following day.

The Ministry of Health and Welfare's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released expert meeting data and records from July 4, detailing the scientific rationale behind the recall standards. Shih questioned the reasonableness of a "zero-detection" policy if even trace amounts of contaminants like 0.01 ppb of benzo[a]pyrene, far below the 2 ppb standard, were to trigger a recall. He argued that such a policy would render existing health and safety standards meaningless.

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If we require zero detection, what is the use of setting health and safety standards?

Regarding the resumption of operations by Zhonglian, Shih stated that the FDA's expert meeting on July 4 concluded that the company should not resume operations, a resolution that was communicated to the Taichung City Government. He emphasized that the key point of the meeting was the clear directive to the manufacturer not to resume operations, regardless of whether company representatives were present for the entire duration or when they departed. The Taichung City Government, in response, released meeting minutes from July 3 that were only a page and a half long, omitting details on unit reports, cause analysis, and improvement measures, leading to further scrutiny.

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This is a political decision, I bear the political responsibility.