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Liberal Studies Department presents news analysis Form 5A Joyce Kwok
Recently, scandals on Chang Guann oil company using gutter oil in the production of its cooking oil have disgusted and enraged both Hong Kong and Taiwanese people. The Taiwanese company used illicit cooking oil that had already been used and then underwent process by cleaning and filtering to resell it as a cheaper alternative to normal cooking oil. Laboratory results show that it is harmful to health if consumed. The fear of consuming the unhealthy oil is shared among Hong Kong people because of the trade of oil between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some companies remove the suspected products from their shelves and food safety experts are ramping up spot checks.
Such issue arouses public attention about food safety in Hong Kong. Not only does it bring negative impacts to citizens’ trust in food products made in Taiwan, but also, in the performance of the Hong Kong government in this crisis. In Macau, the government announced the list of gutter oil importers, as well as 20 restaurants and food factories which were suspected to have used the oil within days after the news on the issue broke out. On the contrary, the Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong’s speed in tracing the use of oil was comparatively slow as many companies were uncooperative. Not until Sept. 14, the government banned the import, sale and supply of all lard and lard products made after March 1 by the Taiwanese firm, which is 10 days slower than Macau and Taiwan. Many questioned the slow reaction of the government and its inability to protect citizens’ health. Since last year, there has been a strong urge for reviewing licensing scheme for oil producers in Hong Kong but nothing has been done on the issue. At present, the Food Safety Ordinance of Hong Kong only states that any person who carries on a food business has to keep transaction records of the business from which it acquired the food and the business to which it supplied
Recently, scandals on Chang Guann oil company using gutter oil in the production of its cooking oil have disgusted and enraged both Hong Kong and Taiwanese people. The Taiwanese company used illicit cooking oil that had already been used and then underwent process by cleaning and filtering to resell it as a cheaper alternative to normal cooking oil. Laboratory results show that it is harmful to health if consumed. The fear of consuming the unhealthy oil is shared among Hong Kong people because of the trade of oil between Hong Kong and Taiwan. Some companies remove the suspected products from their shelves and food safety experts are ramping up spot checks.
Such issue arouses public attention about food safety in Hong Kong. Not only does it bring negative impacts to citizens’ trust in food products made in Taiwan, but also, in the performance of the Hong Kong government in this crisis. In Macau, the government announced the list of gutter oil importers, as well as 20 restaurants and food factories which were suspected to have used the oil within days after the news on the issue broke out. On the contrary, the Centre for Food Safety of Hong Kong’s speed in tracing the use of oil was comparatively slow as many companies were uncooperative. Not until Sept. 14, the government banned the import, sale and supply of all lard and lard products made after March 1 by the Taiwanese firm, which is 10 days slower than Macau and Taiwan. Many questioned the slow reaction of the government and its inability to protect citizens’ health. Since last year, there has been a strong urge for reviewing licensing scheme for oil producers in Hong Kong but nothing has been done on the issue. At present, the Food Safety Ordinance of Hong Kong only states that any person who carries on a food business has to keep transaction records of the business from which it acquired the food and the business to which it supplied