Mainland on alert after Taiwan's cooking oil scandal

China's top quality watchdog on Saturday cautioned against the consumption of food products that may contain recycled cooking oil from Taiwan.

Taiwan police on Thursday busted a ring of six people selling hundreds of tonnes of recycled cooking oil made from kitchen waste and grease of leather processing plants in Kaohsiung and neighboring Pingtung.

Chang Guann Co., a well-established supplier of cooking oil in Taiwan, purchased the recycled oil to produce 782 tonnes of lard, and sold the products to at least 235 food companies and restaurants.

"After a preliminary inspection, the mainland has not found any imports of lard products from the company," the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) said in a statement.

The AQSIQ ordered local authorities to suspend inspection applications filed by the affected companies and restaurants, and carefully examine their past export records, the statement said.

It also warned that customers should be cautious of food products that may contain the tainted oil.