Taiwan's largest class action ever to be filed against oil firms

Want China Times, Staff Reporter 2014-11-29

Consumers line up for refunds before a traditional pastry shop affected by the
oil scandal. (Photo/China Times)

Taiwan's largest-ever class action suit is being filed in response to several oil scandals which for the past 2 years have affected businesses, schools and consumers islandwide. Consumer groups throughout the country have allied themselves, holding a joint press conference on Thursday calling for Taiwanese everywhere to join in the filing, reports our Chinese-language sister paper China Times.

The Executive Yuan has commissioned a Consumers' Foundation and Taiwan Consumer Protection Association to file the lawsuit against Chang Guan, Ting Hsin International Group, Cheng-I Food, Beei Hae Oil and Fats as well as their mid- and downstream partners in an attempt to show businesses that unethical practices will not be tolerated and in fact punished harshly.

Recent oil scandals in the country have affected more than 500 companies and 1,000 products.

Schools were also heavily affected by the products foisted upon them. Ten senior high schools and 25 elementary schools in Taiwan used Cheng-I Food products; six senior high schools and 48 elementary and junior high schools used Ting Hsing's oils in their food; and Beei Hae Oil and Fats oils were found to be used in one school, according to the Consumer Protection Committee. These numbers are likely to skyrocket if calculations include schools that used these oils in the past.

Ting Hsin and Cheng-I Foods were found using oils meant for non-human consumption to produce cooking oil while Beei Hae Oil and Fats was busted for mixing non-edible oils and animal feeds oils to produce fake pork oils.

Consumers should unite to give a stern warning to shady and unethical businesses, said to Yu Kai-hsiung, vice chairman of the Consumers' Foundation.

Consumers who had received refunds for products containing the tainted oils but have not signed a waiver settling with their producers are eligible to join the action, which is set to be filed in March next year. One individual can demand anywhere from NT$500 to NT$30,000 (US$16-US$968) in compensation under current regulations.

The Consumers' Foundation will handle applications from members of general public. The Taiwan Consumer Protection Association will help file on behalf of elementary and junior high schools affected and Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs will accept businesses' applications.

A class action against a single company requires at least 20 consumers' applications to be accepted by courts.

The foundation is to begin accepting applications between Dec. 1 of this year and Jan. 5, 2015. Applicants should provide four documents such as receipts and others, available for download on the foundation's website, by mail or submit them in person.

Taiwan's Consumer Protection Association has begun accepting applications from schools beginning Thursday. The Ministry of Health and Welfare will collect the names and manufacturing dates of the oils in 15 days and give the information to the Ministry of Education, which will provide it to schools across the countries to check if they used the oils in the past. The schools will obtain student or their legal guardians' signatures to file the class action via the association.

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