TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taichung City Government on Wednesday fined Central Union Oil Corp. and Formosa Oilseed Processing Co. NT$3 million (US$92,642) each for failing to notify authorities after Taiwan Sugar Corp. reported irregularities involving a soybean oil shipment in May.
According to the city’s investigation, Taiwan Sugar notified both companies after testing oil from Central Union Oil’s Silo 311 found elevated levels of benzo(a)pyrene, a carcinogen, per UP Media. Taichung officials said both companies were legally required to report the findings to the city government but failed to do so.
Meanwhile, central government officials continued to clash with opposition parties over whether state-owned Taiwan Sugar had a responsibility to report its findings to authorities. Food and Drug Administration Deputy Director-General Wang Te-yuan (王德原) said both the Kaohsiung City Health Department and the Tainan City Public Health Bureau concluded that Taiwan Sugar had not violated relevant regulations, per Liberty Times.
Economic Affairs Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) argued that Taiwan Sugar neither had a legal obligation to report nor took possession of the tainted soybean oil because the shipment was rejected after the irregularities were detected. He added that if the Taichung City Government had conducted sufficient inspections of Central Union Oil’s facility, the contaminated oil would not have entered the market.
Presidential Office Spokesperson Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) echoed Kung’s criticism, calling on Taichung Mayor Lu Shiow-yen (盧秀燕) and Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) to explain the lack of food safety inspections targeting edible oils in recent years, per NOWNews.
The government’s defense of Taiwan Sugar continued to draw criticism from the opposition. KMT Legislator Chen Ching-hui (陳菁徽) pointed to a 2024 Ministry of Health and Welfare press release that said food businesses should report to authorities if they believe their ingredients could endanger public health, per Z.Media.
KMT Legislator Hsu Yu-chen (許宇甄) said Taiwan Sugar had forwarded concerns to authorities in 2013, during then-President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration, after discovering that ingredients used in its pork balls came from a problematic supplier, per China Times. Taichung Deputy Mayor Cheng Chao-hsin (鄭照新) added that the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation defines ingredients as “food,” per UDN.
Lawyer Chen Chun-wei (陳君瑋) argued that Taiwan Sugar neither purchased the oil nor allowed it onto its premises, per SETN. He said future legislative reforms should focus on requiring companies that possess ingredients to report potential food safety risks to authorities.
High Prosecutors Office head prosecutor Chen Hung-ta (陳宏達) disagreed with the government’s interpretation, saying the law requires food businesses to notify authorities within 48 hours of discovering potential public health risks involving their suppliers, per UDN. He said the central question in the controversy is when Taiwan Sugar became aware of the potential risk and whether the risk met the legal threshold requiring it to report.
Chen said the law was intended to ensure businesses report potential food safety risks as early as possible so authorities can intervene promptly.
National Taiwan University Professor Chan Chang-chuan (詹長權) echoed Chen’s assessment, per ETtoday. He suggested that Taiwan Sugar’s decision to reject the shipment may have protected the company, but authorities could not begin managing the risk without being informed.
Chan added that if the public expects food safety problems to be prevented, organizations that first identify potential risks should do more than simply protect their own interests. He also said the public holds higher expectations for Taiwan Sugar because it is state-owned.
