Food-safety scandals that occurred between 2013 to 2014 in Taiwan led the overnment to increase penalties for responsible parties.

The News Lens
Date: 2017/10/09
By: By Philip Liu, Taiwan Business TOPICS Magazine

On the morning of July 28, Wei Ying-chung, former chairman of Wei Chuan Foods

Photo Credit: Reuters/達志影像

Corp., reported to the Taipei Prosecutors Office to begin a two-year prison sentence for his involvement in the 2013 edible-oil scandal that dealt a fatal blow to his company — once one of Taiwan’s leading foodstuff manufacturers.

In late April, the appellate Intellectual Property Court upheld Wei’s conviction for having instructed employees of Ting Hsin Oil and Fat Industrial Co., a Wei Chuan affiliate of which Wei also served as chairman, to raise the share of palm oil in blended oil to 97 percent, leaving only 3 percent for soybean oil, in order to slash production costs. In finding Wei guilty of false labeling and fraud, the court noted that long-term excessive intake of palm oil, with its high content of fatty acid, may lead to clogged arteries. The court also confiscated NT$32.9 million (US$1 million) in gains by Wei Chuan from the illicit business.

The case was the most prominent in a series of food-safety scandals that occurred in 2013-2014, sending shockwaves throughout the society. Another major case, which came to light in October 2013, involved the addition by the Tatung Chang Chi Food Co. of copper chlorophyll to what it claimed was premium 100 percent pure olive oil imported from Spain. In fact, half the content of the product consisted of other inferior oils. Kao Chen-li, then chairman of the company, is now serving a 12-year prison term and the company was fined NT$38 million.    [FULL  STORY]