Taiwan detains chairman of tainted oil maker as scandal deepens

The chief of a Taiwanese oil maker at the center of the latest food scandal to rock the island was taken into custody Saturday on suspicion of fraud.

Pintung prosecutors got the nod from a local court to detain Yeh Wen-hsiang, chairman of Chang Guann Co., after questioning him Friday over the oil scandal that has caused massive recalls of products ranging from cakes to instant noodles.

Kaohsiung's food and drug authority on Wednesday fined Chang Guann, a well-established cooking oil maker headquartered in the city, 50 million New Taiwan dollars (1.67 million U.S. dollars) over its sales of tainted lard.

Taiwan's administrative chief Jiang Yi-huah also confirmed on Saturday that Chiu Wen-ta, head of the island's public health watchdog, has offered a verbal resignation.

However, he said the authorities need to focus on the aftermath of the adulterated oil before holding anyone accountable.

Taiwan has been in the grip of fear and anger since the island's police busted a ring selling hundreds of tonnes of recycled cooking oil made from kitchen waste and grease from leather processing plants last week.

Chang Guann produced 782 tonnes of lard from the oil before selling it to hundreds of food companies and restaurants.

Over 1,000 businesses, including leading brands such as Wei Chuan, Vedan, Want Want and Master Kong, were identified as having used the oil.

Consumers have rushed to refund products that may have been contaminated over the past week.

Local public heath authorities had removed 273.2 tonnes of contaminated products and destroyed 11.9 tonnes by Saturday afternoon.

Last October, olive oil in Taiwan was found to contain low quality substitutes and a banned coloring agent.