In 2008, China was rocked by a milk scandal that left over 3,00,000 children sick and killed six. The children had consumed powdered milk contaminated with high levels of melamine, an industrial chemical. And now the nation is facing another scandal that has reached the households of its citizens. This time there is a massive cooking oil contamination scandal that has left citizens seething with anger and despair.
About China’s Cooking Oil Contamination Scandal
As per a report by the state-run Beijing News, tankers used for ferrying fuel are also carrying cooking oil. In order to costs, a major state-owned food company is using the same tankers to transport both fuel and cooking oil. Worse, there is no cleaning them in between. Not just cooking oil, the tanks are also used to transport syrup. The Chinese government has launched an investigation into the cooking oil scandal.
An unnamed driver stated to Beijing News, that this practice dates back to years and is an “open secret” in the industry. Thousands of Netizens took to the nation’s microblogging site Weibo to create awareness about this grave matter. One person called it worse than the Sanlu milk scandal of 2008. Another said that food safety is an important issue. Netizens said this scandal couldn’t be settled with just a mere statement from the company or the government.
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Same Tanker Used To Transport Fuel & Cooking Oil
Tankers are permitted to carry more than one substance. However, a tanker must be washed and decontaminated thoroughly before being used to ferry food items. Unfortunately, the tankers weren’t washed or decontaminated before ferrying cooking oil across China. There are many major Chinese companies involved like Oil Group and Hopefull Grain and this may snowball into a major scandal. The state-owned Sinograin has also launched a probe into this matter.
Also Read: 8 Types Of Cooking Oil That You Should Know Of!
State broadcaster CCTV informed that transporting both fuel and cooking oil without cleaning the container puts consumers’ health at stake. There is a potential for contamination of food products like. It can lead to food poisoning. They called it extreme disregard for consumers’ health and lives.
Meanwhile, what do you think about this cooking oil contamination scandal that hit China?
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