The China Post
Date: August 25, 2016
By: Sun Hsin Hsuan
TAIPEI, Taiwan — An appeals court on Wednesday awarded a group of plaintiffs NT$3.94 million over a plasticizer-tainted food scandal dating back to 2011.
The case was the biggest-ever class action suit brought by the Consumers’ Foundation, with the group suing food manufacturers involved in a 2011 Asia-wide food safety scandal. Thirty-seven food manufacturers have been accused of selling food or beverages contaminated with plasticizers.
The targets of the suit included suppliers who had knowingly mixed plasticizers with approved food additives, such as Yu Shen Chemical Co. (昱伸公司) and Ben Hur Spices and Chemicals (賓漢香料), as well the clients of these firms, such as Uni-President, who unwittingly sold food with the tainted ingredients.
In 2012, plaintiffs sued for NT$7.8 billion in compensation. The figure demanded was cut to NT$2.4 billion the same year after several plaintiffs settled and dropped out of the suit. The NT$2.4 billion compensation sum was rejected by the court.
In 2013 the New Taipei District Court held 18 manufacturers responsible, awarding victims only NT$1.2 million in compensation. The court justified its relatively light ruling by citing information provided by the Health and Welfare Ministry downplaying the harmful effects of plasticizers on the human body. [FULL STORY]
