TAIPEI: Taiwan on Wednesday (Jul 8) widened a precautionary recall of food products linked to contaminated soybean oil, with more than 400 items, including packaged meals and instant noodles, now reportedly ordered to be pulled from shelves.
The expanding food safety scare has also triggered a political row, with opposition lawmakers accusing the government of mishandling the response and calling for the health minister and other senior officials to resign.
The case came to light on Jul 1 after the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) said Taichung-based edible oil supplier Central Union Oil had detected excessive levels of benzo[a]pyrene in a batch of “soybean salad oil”.
Benzo[a]pyrene is classified as carcinogenic to humans by the International Agency for Research on Cancer. It is a type of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon, which is formed during the incomplete burning of organic materials such as coal, oil, tobacco and wood.
About 1,300 metric tonnes of the affected oil had been found to contain 8.1 micrograms per kg of benzo[a]pyrene, more than four times Taiwan’s legal limit of 2 micrograms per kg.
The affected oil was distributed to three food manufacturers – Tai Sun Enterprise, Fwusow Industry and Formosa Oilseed Processing. It was shipped between Apr 8 and 10, a TFDA official said on Wednesday.
The recall has expanded in stages. An initial recall was launched on Jul 1, targeting the problem oil and the products made by the three companies.
On Jul 4, this was expanded to further downstream products containing at least 20 per cent of the affected oil. This was widened on Jul 7 to cover all downstream products made with the affected oil, regardless of the proportion used.
The list of recalled products released by the TFDA comprised 401 items as of Wednesday, local media reported. It includes salad dressings, seasoning sauces, bakery fillings, ready-to-eat food, as well as flavoured sauces.
The agency said on Tuesday that it had already contacted 331 affected businesses and was still tracing the remaining 29.