Contaminated cooking oil, new scandal in China

China is experiencing a new food scandal with local journalists revealing that edible oil intended for cooking was transported in tankers that were also used to transport fuel. The official Beijing daily “Beijing News” (“Xinjing Bao”) last week published the results of an investigation into what it describes as an “open secret” in the transport sector.

Journalists discovered that several tankers had been carrying edible cooking oil immediately after unloading fuel without first cleaning the tank. Truck drivers told the daily that this practice made it possible to reduce costs and thus better compete with competitors.

Beijing News quotes Zhu Yi, a food expert, as saying that long-term consumption of oils potentially contaminated with this type of fuel could lead to poisoning. The government announced on Tuesday the opening of an official investigation and vowed to crack down.

China has vowed to strengthen food safety regulations to regain public trust, severely damaged by several scandals over the past two decades. In 2008, adulterated milk powder caused the poisoning of around 300,000 children and the death of six babies due to kidney problems.

In 2022, Chinese pork processing giant Henan Shuanghui apologized after unsanitary practices, including product packaging and employee dress, were exposed. Last year, major beer producer Tsingtao launched an investigation after a video emerged showing an employee at the production site urinating in a vat of malt.

Many Chinese netizens seemed resigned to the latest cooking oil scandal. “When I heard this story, I was not at all surprised!” responded one user of the Chinese social network Weibo, corresponding to X. “From melamine to consuming fuel, we will have experienced everything.” Another netizen said he hoped for a “swift” investigation and a “clear explanation” from the authorities. “Otherwise, I really don’t know which oil to buy anymore,” he writes.