Watchdogs must not lag behind

More shocking than the rampancy of gutter oil is the fact that it passed the tests of supervising departments. The scandal calls for a mechanism in which the food we get can be traced back to original producers and ingredient suppliers. The move might involve a huge cost, but it would be worth it because it might save the health of thousands of people.

takungpao.com, Sept 11

Supervision over food must be strictly implemented to ensure its safety, because any single incident might involve the health, even lives, of thousands. But illegal traders are always developing new ways to get bad food past the tests. Therefore, consumers need to raise the alert, as well, and consult experts or call supervisors whenever they sense the food they get is abnormal. Food safety concerns all and needs the cooperation of all.

BeijingNews, Sept 10

The authorities said they tested the gutter oil involved but did not find any problem. According to chemical experts, their tests emphasized the smell, acidity and the percentage of compounds in the sample, but illegal traders can make all these appear normal.

What the authorities need to do is test the percentages of acrylamide and similar carcinogens in the samples, as these increase every time the oil is heated. The illegal traders are improving their technologies and the supervisors need to catch up.

ettoday.net, Sept 12

In Japan and some other countries, only special, authorized agencies may recycle waste grease or kitchen garbage, with clear records of each of their deals, which prevents the oil from returning to the dining table. As early as 2001, Taiwan introduced a law covering waste, but it lacks detailed executable measures concerning waste grease or kitchen garbage. The latest gutter oil incident reveals this is a loop-hole that needs to be filled.

hsw.cn, Sept 12

With the gutter oil scandal being uncovered, Yeh Wen-hsiang, the co-chairman of Chang Guann Co, kneeled at the press conference to apologize and was detained. Many similar scandals have happened on the Chinese mainland, but in very few cases have those involved apologized, let alone been punished by law. We need stricter law enforcement to prevent more food scandals.

Yang Anjin, lawyer, on Sinamicro blog