Taiwan's FDA criticized for slow recall of contaminated oil; minister to meet refineries

Taiwan's Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is under scrutiny after its initial response to a contamination incident involving the carcinogenic substance benzopyrene in Zhonglian brand cooking oil. Critics argue the agency was too slow to recall not only the raw oil but also blended oils and other downstream products.

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The food safety and hygiene management law revision, the FDA invited many scholars and experts to review past food violation incidents and formulated "Principles for Handling Product Recalls, Returns, Sealing, and Destruction of Food Violations," stipulating principles for 8 major categories of recalls and destruction, so that all city and county health bureaus have consistent practices.

Health Minister Shih Chung-liang acknowledged the public's concern, stating that while the FDA acted according to existing regulations, the situation warranted a closer look. He explained that Taiwan's "Principles for Handling Product Recalls, Returns, Sealing, and Destruction of Food Violations" categorizes violations. For illegal additives or substances exceeding toxicity standards, a full recall is mandated. However, for legally permitted additives or substances naturally occurring during processing that exceed safety standards, a first-level recall is typically implemented, with second-level recalls reserved for cases where concentrations are very low and pose minimal risk.

Shih indicated that he personally felt the decision not to initiate a second-level recall immediately seemed "odd." He announced that he would convene a meeting with Taiwan's four major vegetable oil refineries on August 6 to discuss strengthening process monitoring, including inspection points and frequency. The goal is to develop new standard procedures to ensure food safety.

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For externally added illegal additives, or those exceeding toxicity standards, the first and second levels are fully recalled. For legal additives, substances naturally generated during the process, we adopt "safety standards." If they exceed safety standards, we adopt the first level of recall. The second level usually has very low concentration and does not pose a problem. This incident was handled in the latter way.

The FDA had previously consulted experts and Zhonglian Oil to review the incident, asking the company to examine its production processes and re-test residual samples to determine if the issue stemmed from raw materials or manufacturing. The agency is committed to revising its oversight mechanisms to prevent similar incidents in the future, particularly given the limited number of large-scale oil refineries in Taiwan.

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But Shih Chung-liang admitted that he himself felt it was 'odd' not to initiate the second-level recall at the first instance. However, the FDA acted according to the law and handled it according to existing regulations at first. Later, considering that this oil incident involved a wide range of issues, unlike previous small-scale food hygiene incidents, and that Taiwan only has 4 plant oil refineries, each supplying a considerable amount, relevant regulations need to be discussed again in an expert meeting.