Taiwan 'Gutter Oil' Scandal: Hundreds Of Products Banned By Health Officials

A tainted-oil scandal in Taiwan could result in a shortage of groceries, and could even affect large international companies including Starbucks. Taiwan’s Food and Drug Administration has announced it will pull all products linked to the Chang Guann Co, effective Saturday morning.

Earlier this week, the company was found to be selling lard-based oil, normally used for industrial products, as a foodstuff. According to Want China Times, a Taiwanese newspaper, Chang Guann purchased the oil from a Hong Kong trading company, Globalway Corp.

According to the South China Morning Post of Hong Kong, 14 of the listed products are also items that have been sold overseas, in places like Brazil, France, Hong Kong, mainland China, Macau, New Zealand, Singapore and the United States. In addition, more than 1,000 companies are reported to have been affected by the substandard oil, including global retail chains like Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) and 7-Eleven. Local health bureaus across Taiwan will reportedly be sending inspectors to ensure all listed products have been removed. The Taiwan FDA announced that stores continuing to sell such products would face a fines up to 3 million Taiwanese dollars, which is equivalent to just under $100,000 U.S. 

In an effort to clear shelves of compromised food supplies, Taiwan’s FDA deputy director-general Chiang Yu-mei said an initial list of 249 food products affected by the tainted oil supply will be pulled from grocery shelves.

According to the health authority, the comprehensive recall of all Chang Guann-related products could lead to a temporary shortage of some food supplies in Taiwanese groceries as stocks are replaced with safe food.

Chang Guann reportedly imported a total of 87 tons of oil that was illegally relabeled to be fit for human consumption. Branded as Chuan Tung Fragrant Lard Oil, the product, which is a combination of recycled kitchen waste oil and lard, was sold to roughly 1,256 retail businesses.

Chang Guann’s vice president Tai Chin-chuan is being investigated for his alleged role in the tainted oil supply, but was released on Thursday on bail as the probe continues. On the same day, Chang Guann’s president, Yeh Wen-hsiang, held a press conference, where he apologized for the scandal and drank a cup of the oil to prove it was not harmful to humans. Chang Guann is maintaining that they were unaware that the oil supply provided by Globalway was not suitable for human consumption.  

http://www.ibtimes.com/taiwan-gutter-oil-scandal-hundreds-products-banned-health-officials-1687104

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO- Chang Guann Co

   WHEN- Saturday morning

   WHAT- A tainted-oil scandal

   WHY- not given

   WHERE- Taiwan

   HOW- sell overseas

Keywords：

   1. lard : 豬油

   2. Macau : 澳門

   3. substandard : 標準以下的

Japan Mount Ontake volcano: Death toll reaches 47

Rescue workers in Japan have recovered more bodies from Mount Ontake, bringing to 47 the number of those killed by Saturday's volcanic eruption. The search resumed despite fears of toxic gases and another eruption. The number of those unaccounted for is unknown but estimates say hundreds were at the summit at the time. Dozens were injured by falling debris.

Since then, volcanic tremors have been continuously detected with smoke still coming out of the volcano. Police had earlier put the latest death toll at 48 but then revised it down by one. The majority of bodies found near the summit on Wednesday were hikers, according to local police. Helicopters have been used to bring the dead down from Mount Ontake.

Around 1,000 troops, police and fire fighters are involved in rescue operations. The relatives of the dead and missing are waiting for news in a town hall in the nearby area of Kiso. Danger continues Experts have warned that the eruption is ongoing. Seismologists had noticed increased seismic activity on Mount Ontake ahead of the eruption, but were still unprepared for what ensued.

The mountain, which is about 200km (125 miles) west of Tokyo, is one of Japan's 110 active volcanoes.

Its eruption on Saturday is the worst volcanic disaster in Japan for 90 years.

not given

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-29440982

Structure of the Lead：
WHO- not given
WHEN- Saturday           

WHAT- volcanic eruption           
WHY- not given           
WHERE- Tokyo,Japan
HOW- volcanic tremors have been continuously detected with smoke still coming out of the volcano.

Keywords：

   1. Seismologists : 地震學家

Taiwan gas explosion kills dozens

At least 24 people have been killed and 271 others injured when several underground gas explosions ripped through Taiwan's second-largest city overnight, hurling concrete through the air and blasting long trenches in the streets.

The series of explosions about midnight Thursday and early Friday struck a district where several petrochemical plans operate pipelines alongside the sewer system of Kaohsiung, a south-western port with 2.8 million people.

The fires were believed to have been caused by a leak of propene, a petrochemical material not intended for public use, but the source of the gas was not immediately clear, officials said.

Video from the TVBS broadcaster showed residents searching for victims in shattered storefronts and rescuers pulling injured people from the rubble of a road and placing them on stretchers while passersby helped other victims on a sidewalk. Broadcaster ETTV showed rows of large fires sending smoke into the night sky.

Four firefighters were among the 24 dead and 271 people were injured, the National Fire Agency said. The firefighters had been at the scene investigating reports of a gas leak when the explosions occurred, Taiwan's Central News Agency reported.

At least five blasts shook the city, said Taiwan's Premier Jiang Yi-huah.

Hundreds more injured as streets of Kaohsiung are ripped open by petrochemical pipeline blast

Chang Jia-juch, the director of the Central Disaster Emergency Operation Center, said the leaking gas was most likely to be propene, meaning that the resulting fires could not be extinguished by water. He said emergency workers would have to wait until the gas was burnt away.

The source of the leak was unknown. Chang said, however, that propene was not for public use and that it was a petrochemical material.

The Kaohsiung mayor, Chen Chu, said several petrochemical companies had pipelines built along the sewage system in Chian-Chen district, which has both factories and residential buildings. "Our priority is to save people now. We ask citizens living along the pipelines to evacuate," Chen told TVBS television.

Power was cut off in the area, making it difficult for firefighters to search for others who might be buried in rubble.

Channel NewsAsia said the local fire department received reports from residents of gas leakage at about 8.46pm and explosions started around midnight.

Closed-circuit television showed an explosion rippling through the floor of a motorcycle parking area, hurling concrete and other debris through the air. Mobile phone video captured the sound of an explosion as flames leapt at least nine metres (30ft) into the air.

One of the explosions left a large trench running down the center of a road, edged with piles of concrete slabs torn apart by the force of the blast. A damaged motorcycle lay in the crater and TVBS showed cars flipped over. The force of the initial blast also felled trees lining the street.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jul/31/taiwan-city-kaohsiung-gas-explosion

Structure of the Lead：

   WHO-At least 24 people and 271 others

   WHEN-about midnight Thursday

   WHAT-underground gas explosions 

   WHY-have been caused by a leak of propene

   WHERE-Taiwan's second-largest city, Kaohsiung

   HOW-not given

Keywords：

  1. hurling:投

  2. concrete:具體的

  3. trenches:溝渠

  4. propene:丙烯

  5. petrochemical material:石油化工原料

  6. storefronts:店面

  7. rubble:瓦礫