Sunday, November 3, 2024

China is facing a contaminated cooking oil crisis. Is Australia at risk?

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Australia has been importing cooking oils from one of the companies implicated in a food safety scandal in China, the Department of Agriculture has confirmed.

Chinese authorities say they are investigating after local media reports found a major state-owned food company used the same trucks to ship fuel, chemical liquids and food products to cut costs.

An investigation by state-backed Beijing News, which published the allegations on July 2, said it was an “open secret” in the transport industry that the trucks weren’t cleaned between deliveries.

China’s largest grain storage and transport company, Sinograin, and private conglomerate Hopefull Grain and Oil Group were implicated in the report. Both have since announced investigations into the matter.

China’s state grain stockpiler Sinograin is one of the companies alleged to have contaminated cooking oil with dangerous chemicals. (Reuters)

A Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry spokesperson said Australia imported a range of oils from China that could be considered “cooking oils”, including from one of the companies named in the media reports.

“As it is unclear what ‘cooking oils’ are implicated, volume data isn’t available,” they said.

“As per our normal procedures, the department will seek assurances from China that cooking oils exported to Australia are safe for consumption.

“Importers will also be advised to seek assurances from suppliers. There are no import bans currently in place for cooking oil from China.”

The ABC has sought clarification on which of the two companies Australia is importing from.

Meanwhile, public outrage and food safety concerns are spreading among Chinese communities and across social media.

So what are the potential health and food safety implications? Is Australia at risk? And how might these allegations impact consumer behaviour in China?

What are the health risks?

The food products transported in the tankers included cooking oil, soybean oil and syrup.

According to the investigation, those same tankers were also used to ship coal-to-oil products, which contain unsaturated hydrocarbons, aromatic hydrocarbons, sulphides and other elements that could cause poisoning.

Dr Ulku Yuksel, a senior lecturer at the University of Sydney Business School whose research specialises in cross-cultural consumer behaviour, condemned the companies for neglecting consumer health in favour of cost-cutting.

A woman in a mask looks at a large bottle of cooking oil in a shopping aisle.

Allegations that cooking oil has been contaminated during transport has provoked outrage from people in China fearing for their health and safety.(AFP)

As she puts it: “Food safety is a basic human right.”

“This can cause not only poisoning – like short-term or long-term poisoning – this poisoning can have fatal effects on people’s vital organs,” Dr Yuksel told the ABC. 

“It’s fatal, the repercussions of such a devastating decision to use the same tankers for the fuel, chemical liquids and cooking oil.”

Dr Yuksel said the seriousness of the cooking oil scandal was equivalent to the 2008 Chinese milk scandal, when contaminated milk powder products were found to have caused the deaths of six infants and the hospitalisation of some 54,000 others.

Baby formula China

Some say the cooking oil scandal is comparable to the baby formula scandal in 2008.(Reuters)

That incident significantly damaged the reputation of China’s food exports, and prompted legions of Chinese consumers to boycott local brands and source products like baby formula from overseas including Australia.

Dr Yuksel said the contaminated cooking oil could potentially affect even more people.

“I wouldn’t say this is worse, but I would say it’s as bad.”

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