Taichung: Around 1,300 tonnes of cooking oil products have been recalled after they were found to contain excessive levels of benzopyrene, a carcinogenic compound, a Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (TFDA) official said Thursday. The affected soy-based cooking oil was produced by Taichung-based Central Union Oil Corp. and supplied to three major Taiwanese food oil companies, Taisun, Fwusow Industry, and Fopco, TFDA Deputy Director-General Tsai Shu-chen told a weekly Cabinet news conference. The oil was later sold in 3-liter and 18-liter bottles, Tsai said.

According to Focus Taiwan, the TFDA announced Wednesday that Central Union had informed the agency Tuesday night that a self-administered inspection found benzopyrene levels in 1,300 tonnes of soy-based oil had reached 8.1 micrograms per kilogram, surpassing the legal limit of 2 micrograms per kilogram. TFDA official Hsu Chao-kai revealed that all the affected oil had been sold to the three companies between April 8 and April 10. Upon receiving notification from Central Union of the anomaly, the three companies promptly recalled the products.

Tsai elaborated that under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, food oil companies are mandated to conduct routine self-inspections, while the TFDA also engages third-party institutions for testing food oil products. From 2022 to 2025, 372 products sold by 240 companies were inspected, including 268 products tested for benzopyrene, and no irregularities were previously detected, Tsai stated.

The TFDA, alongside the Taichung City government, inspected Central Union's premises on Wednesday and instructed the company to halt production while reviewing its manufacturing processes to identify the cause of the anomaly. Benzopyrene is classified as a Group 1 carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer.