Focus Taiwan
Date: 2016/06/17
By: Chang Jung-hsiang and Y.F. Low

Taipei, June 17 (CNA) The head of an edible fats supplier in Tainan was sentenced on Friday to a jail term of six years and six months by a district court for deliberately concealing the origins of his products.

The man sentenced was Wu Jung-he (吳容合), owner of Hsin Hao company, which supplied lard to Cheng I Food Co., a subsidiary of disgraced food maker Ting Hsin International Group, between 2012 and 2014 for processing into lard-based cooking oil products, according to a verdict issued by the Tainan District Court.

The lard, however, was imported from Vietnam and Hong Kong as reported to customs as animal feed-grade fat to evade the 20 percent import duty on edible lard and avoid inspection by the authorities, the verdict said.

The court could not confirm if the imported lard was in fact for use in animal feed or in consumer products, but it found that Wu could not ensure the safety of his products.     [FULL  STORY]