Cooking oil scandals put NT$7bn dent in Taiwan's economy

Want China Times, CNA 2014-10-14

Ting Hsin food and products have been removed from shelves at a
Carrefour in Yilan, Oct. 13. (File photo/Li Chung-yi)

Since October of last year, a spate of edible oil scandals involving the Ting Hsin International Group is estimated to cause losses of over NT$7 billion (US$230 million) to the economy, officials at Taiwan's statistics office said.

The scandals involving the use of substandard or tainted oils to produce cooking oil and processed food products have triggered consumer boycotts of all products sold by the Ting Hsin group, one of Taiwan's food giants.

The Ting Hsin food safety storm will have a negative impact on the economy, officials said, noting that because the latest Ting Hsin scandal was still evolving, there's not enough data for the agency to predict how big the impact will be. However, if the Ting Hsin group withdraws from Taiwan's food market entirely, the impact will definitely be reflected on the actual gross domestic product of the country.

Related Articles:

Master Kong shares plummet as China gets wise to Ting Hsin scandal
Anger at food scandals may help Taiwan in long run: academic

Minister willing to take responsibility for scandal: Taiwan's premier
Vietnam confirms oil sent to Taiwan unfit for human consumption