HK detains 2 for selling fake cooking oil to Taiwan

Hong Kong police on Friday detained two men suspected of selling oil for the use of animal feed to Taiwan as edible oil.

A Hong Kong trading company shipped to Taiwan oil used for animal feed as fit for human consumption, and these two men were suspected behind the fraud, the police said.

Secretary for Hong Kong Food and Health Ko Wing-man said the way this company handled the oil was a very serious act and may be involved in a criminal offence.

Taiwan's police busted a ring selling hundreds of tons of recycled cooking oil made from kitchen waste and grease from leather processing plants last week. Hong Kong's residents felt anxious because the region's enterprises may import tainted oil from Taiwan.

Ko said many Hong Kong enterprises were embroiled in the Taiwan oil scandal, majority of which failed to keep invoices of oil import properly, and that hampered the process of Hong Kong government's investigation.

He suggested that Hong Kong should have a tracking mechanism in order to prevent certain oil from being reused for manufacturing edible oil.

"This is one of the possible directions," he said, "but I am sure that there would be other means that we should also consider. We will further discuss the matter with the relevant committees of the Legislative Council and the industry concerned, and then decide on the direction to ensure that reused oil would not be recycled for human consumption."