2013 Taiwan food scandal

The 2013 Taiwan food scandal refers to food safety incidents in the Republic of China (Taiwan) that began in October 2013. Affected products included cooking oil, health pills, alcoholic beverages, milk and rice.

Chang Chi Foodstuff Factory Co. (Chinese: 大統長基) was found to have used copper chlorophyllin, an illegal coloring agent for cooking oil, in its olive oil and have adulterated its higher-end cooking oil with cheaper cottonseed oil. The company was fined NT$ 28.6 million in accordance to the Act Governing Food Sanitation after authorities have found that their products had been adulterated. In December 2013 company chairman Kao Chen-li was sentenced to sixteen years in prison for his role in the scandal. The company was also mandated to pay a further NT$50 million fine. A NT$1.85 billion fine levied by the Changhua County Public Health Bureau was annulled in July 2014 because Kao and two other company executives had already been jailed. Kao Tsung-hsien of the Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Administrative Appeal Committee stated:

Given that the Changhua District Court has handed down a punishment against the company’s chairman, Kao Cheng-li [in December last year], the committee members decided to cancel the NT$1.85 billion fine in accordance with Article 26 of the Administrative Penalty Act.

Flavor Full Food Inc. (Chinese: 富味鄉食品股份有限公司) was accused of blending cheaper cottonseed oil into more expensive cooking oils to increase their profit. On 26 October 2013, the company admitted of their wrongdoings through health officials. The company had adulterated 24 of its products sold in Taiwan with cheaper cottonseed oil, and also added flavoring agents to one of its peanut oil products. The company had been fined NT$ 8 million for 25 violations. The former chairman and his brother were each sentenced to sixteen months in prison and ordered to pay NT$25 million in September 2014. The company itself was ordered to pay a further NT$5 million fine.

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