China cooking oil scandal stokes food safety fears
The Peninsula
Beijing: Revelations that cooking oil has been transported in containers also used to carry fuel have sparked outrage in China, the latest scandal in...
Beijing: Revelations that cooking oil has been transported in containers also used to carry fuel have sparked outrage in China, the latest scandal in a country where fears about food safety are widespread.
Local state-backed outlet the Beijing News last week published an investigation into what it called an "open secret" in the transportation industry.
The outlet found that several tanker trucks had transported edible cooking oil immediately after unloading coal oil, with no cleaning process in between journeys.
Truck drivers told the newspaper the practice helped to cut costs in the face of increasing competition.
The outlet also quoted food science expert Zhu Yi as saying that long-term consumption of coal oil, which consists mainly of hydrocarbons, could lead to poisoning.