Taiwan food imports with ‘gutter oil’ recalled

SCREENGRAB from www.fda.gov.ph

MANILA, Philippines–The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has announced that importers and distributors have agreed to pull out from the domestic market food items that were sourced from Taiwanese companies that are believed to have purchased oil products tainted with recycled waste oil or “gutter oil.”

In an advisory dated Sept. 16, the FDA assured Filipino consumers that none of the allegedly tainted oil products have been registered in the Philippines after cross-checking its database with the list of erring companies from the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA).

The TFDA has released a list of companies that reportedly purchased oil products containing illicit cooking oil from Taiwan-based cooking oil manufacturer Chang Guann Co.

The TFDA also identified about 250 food products tainted with gutter oil from the Taiwanese cooking oil manufacturer.

“As a precautionary measure, the Philippine FDA cross-checked its database with the list of the TFDA for possibilities that local distributor/importer companies may have imported lard oil and food products tainted with oil from the identified sources in Taiwan,” said FDA Acting Director General Kenneth Go.

“Based on Philippine FDA records, there is no registered lard oil that came from companies that are in the list of the TFDA,” said Go.

But the check revealed that there were FDA-registered products that were imported and distributed from Taiwanese companies in the TFDA list. These companies are Wei Chuan Foods Corp., Haw-Di-I Food Co., Ve Wong Corp. and Sheng Hsiang Jen Foods Co.

The products that will be removed from stores’ shelves were identified as Mua Yu Sesame Oil, Bullhead Barbeque Sauce, Bullhead Brand Hot and Spicy Barbeque Sauce, Wei Chuan Pickled Bamboo Shoot Strips in Chili Oil, Wei Chuan Pickled Bamboo Shoots and Wei Chuan Canned Tausi Eel.

“The importers and distributors of these registered products met with the Center for Food Regulation and Research last Sept. 11 and committed to the FDA that they will voluntarily recall the products,” said Go.