Clipping Board » Illness Enters through Mouth ─ The information that has been made public is often just the tip of the iceberg...
June 8, 2013, China Times [Reported by Hong Rongzhi, Cheng Bingzhang, Xu Yiqiao, and Cao Tingting]
Tainan prosecutors investigating a case of substandard rice dumplings were shocked to discover that the zongzi sold by four major hypermarket chains in Taiwan were all produced by an underground factory in Chiayi County with poor sanitary conditions. Although the products were urgently removed from shelves and sealed, it is estimated that tens of thousands of the problematic dumplings had already been consumed by unsuspecting customers.
Prosecutors revealed that four major hypermarkets—Carrefour, RT-Mart, Far Eastern A.Mart, and Taiwan Sugar—had placed orders for zongzi through Tainan’s Yuchang Food Company and Hongjia Trading Company with the unregistered Jiaping Food Store in Minxiong Township, Chiayi County. The total number of orders from these four chains exceeded 100,000 dumplings.
However, all four retailers claimed innocence, stating that they were also victims and had no prior knowledge that their suppliers had placed orders with Jiaping. Upon being notified by prosecutors, they immediately pulled the products from shelves and accepted returns from consumers.
Prosecutors Lin Zhongbin, Liu Xiuyan, and Cai Peirong from the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office found that Yuchang Food, located in Jiali District and bearing the CAS (Certified Agricultural Standards) certification for quality agricultural products, did not operate its own zongzi production line. Instead, it outsourced production to Jiaping Food and then sold the products under its own brand, "Shuijiao Sao," with distribution channels across Taiwan.
Investigators noted that Jiaping Food Store was not a legally registered factory, yet its zongzi packaging bore the label "HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)," falsely implying that the products adhered to SSOP (Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards to gain consumer trust. This not only misled consumers but also severely undermined the credibility of these certification marks. Prosecutors will further investigate Jiaping for potential fraud charges.
Following the scandal involving Shuijiao Sao zongzi, other products under the same brand were immediately pulled from shelves as a precautionary measure.
RT-Mart clarified that it had not sold the three types of zongzi with altered expiration dates by Yuchang, stating that some media reports were inaccurate. To mitigate risks and protect consumer rights, it removed all ten Shuijiao Sao products, emphasizing that the brand was not RT-Mart’s own.
Far Eastern A.Mart also issued a statement, stressing that it had no partnership with the implicated Yuchang Food Company and had never stocked any of its tampered or expired zongzi. It reserved the right to take legal action against any parties damaging its reputation. To safeguard consumers, it proactively removed two types of southern-style peanut zongzi produced by Jiaping and accepted returns.
Carrefour confirmed it had not sold Yuchang’s zongzi with altered expiration dates but voluntarily pulled all 16 Shuijiao Sao products from shelves and offered refunds.
Ma Yuzhi, Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan Sugar’s Hypermarket Division, stated that Taiwan Sugar had no direct dealings with Jiaping Food Store. However, one of its suppliers, Hongjia Company, had outsourced production to Jiaping. Upon learning of Jiaping’s violations, Taiwan Sugar immediately removed all related products from its stores.Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ % E5……2% BD% E6% 8B% 9B- 213001370. html;_ylt=Ah_gH7liS8fn7ZUtM_wmzy.VBdF_;_ylu=X3oDMTRqajAzZ2VpBG1pdANTZWN0aW9uTGlzdCBGUCBMaWZlc3R5bGUgTUQEcGtnA2JiYTQ2ZjQ4LTkyZDYtMzFjYi04ZGIyLTgxNjMyMzNhOTgwMgRwb3MDNARzZWMDTWVkaWFCTGlzdE1peGVkTFBDQVRlbXAEdmVyA2E3MWJlOWUyLWNmYjktMTFlMi1iYjc1LTkzOTgwNmI0MDJiNg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFxZmE5djNsBGludGwDdHcEbGFuZwN6aC1oYW50LXR3BHBzdGFpZAMEcHN0Y2F0A.aWsOiBnummlumggQRwdANwbWg-;_ylv=3
Underground OEM by Unqualified Factories: Major Retailers' Dumpling Scandal
Tainan prosecutors investigating a case of substandard rice dumplings were shocked to discover that the zongzi sold by four major hypermarket chains in Taiwan were all produced by an underground factory in Chiayi County with poor sanitary conditions. Although the products were urgently removed from shelves and sealed, it is estimated that tens of thousands of the problematic dumplings had already been consumed by unsuspecting customers.
Prosecutors revealed that four major hypermarkets—Carrefour, RT-Mart, Far Eastern A.Mart, and Taiwan Sugar—had placed orders for zongzi through Tainan’s Yuchang Food Company and Hongjia Trading Company with the unregistered Jiaping Food Store in Minxiong Township, Chiayi County. The total number of orders from these four chains exceeded 100,000 dumplings.
However, all four retailers claimed innocence, stating that they were also victims and had no prior knowledge that their suppliers had placed orders with Jiaping. Upon being notified by prosecutors, they immediately pulled the products from shelves and accepted returns from consumers.
Prosecutors Lin Zhongbin, Liu Xiuyan, and Cai Peirong from the Tainan District Prosecutors’ Office found that Yuchang Food, located in Jiali District and bearing the CAS (Certified Agricultural Standards) certification for quality agricultural products, did not operate its own zongzi production line. Instead, it outsourced production to Jiaping Food and then sold the products under its own brand, "Shuijiao Sao," with distribution channels across Taiwan.
Investigators noted that Jiaping Food Store was not a legally registered factory, yet its zongzi packaging bore the label "HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point)," falsely implying that the products adhered to SSOP (Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures) and GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice) standards to gain consumer trust. This not only misled consumers but also severely undermined the credibility of these certification marks. Prosecutors will further investigate Jiaping for potential fraud charges.
Following the scandal involving Shuijiao Sao zongzi, other products under the same brand were immediately pulled from shelves as a precautionary measure.
RT-Mart clarified that it had not sold the three types of zongzi with altered expiration dates by Yuchang, stating that some media reports were inaccurate. To mitigate risks and protect consumer rights, it removed all ten Shuijiao Sao products, emphasizing that the brand was not RT-Mart’s own.
Far Eastern A.Mart also issued a statement, stressing that it had no partnership with the implicated Yuchang Food Company and had never stocked any of its tampered or expired zongzi. It reserved the right to take legal action against any parties damaging its reputation. To safeguard consumers, it proactively removed two types of southern-style peanut zongzi produced by Jiaping and accepted returns.
Carrefour confirmed it had not sold Yuchang’s zongzi with altered expiration dates but voluntarily pulled all 16 Shuijiao Sao products from shelves and offered refunds.
Ma Yuzhi, Deputy Executive Director of Taiwan Sugar’s Hypermarket Division, stated that Taiwan Sugar had no direct dealings with Jiaping Food Store. However, one of its suppliers, Hongjia Company, had outsourced production to Jiaping. Upon learning of Jiaping’s violations, Taiwan Sugar immediately removed all related products from its stores.Source: http:/ / tw. news. yahoo. com/ % E5……2% BD% E6% 8B% 9B- 213001370. html;_ylt=Ah_gH7liS8fn7ZUtM_wmzy.VBdF_;_ylu=X3oDMTRqajAzZ2VpBG1pdANTZWN0aW9uTGlzdCBGUCBMaWZlc3R5bGUgTUQEcGtnA2JiYTQ2ZjQ4LTkyZDYtMzFjYi04ZGIyLTgxNjMyMzNhOTgwMgRwb3MDNARzZWMDTWVkaWFCTGlzdE1peGVkTFBDQVRlbXAEdmVyA2E3MWJlOWUyLWNmYjktMTFlMi1iYjc1LTkzOTgwNmI0MDJiNg--;_ylg=X3oDMTFxZmE5djNsBGludGwDdHcEbGFuZwN6aC1oYW50LXR3BHBzdGFpZAMEcHN0Y2F0A.aWsOiBnummlumggQRwdANwbWg-;_ylv=3