The State Council’s Food Safety Office has given its conclusion regarding tankers transporting edible oil and chemicals alternatively without cleaning the tank in between, a practice that created quite a stir after a Beijing News report exposed it in early July.
The words used by the probe team in the news release issued on Sunday are rather harsh. The joint probe team said the practice of mixing edible vegetable oil and chemicals in truck tankers was reprehensible, violates basic common sense, tramples on both moral and legal boundaries, and must be strictly punished.
The team conducting the probe included members from seven departments, namely the State Council’s Food Safety Office, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Public Security, the Ministry of Transport, the National Health Commission, the State Administration for Market Regulation, and the National Food and Strategic Reserves Administration.
The team was so empowered and the probe so thorough that they could find out the exact location of the two trucks in question, bearing registration numbers E5476W and E6365Z, on an hour-by-hour basis from May 22 to 27. The contaminated edible oil they were carrying has also been traced to a great extent.
The success of the investigation shows the seven departments’ firm, unshakable determination to ensure food safety and protect people’s health.
Following the probe, three executives from the transport enterprises and two owners of the two trucks face penalties; some of whom might face criminal charges. The drivers of the two trucks have been arrested and might also face criminal charges, while three people involved in fabricating records and creating invoices to give the impression that the tanks had been cleaned have been detained for 10 days and fines have been slapped on seven grain and oil enterprises that are also involved. The penalties levied on those held answerable, done in strict accordance with the law and the regulations, are expected to serve as a deterrent to anyone who dares even think about committing such illegal acts in the future.
The news release might bring closure to the incident but not an end to preventive measures in the future. The State Council Food Safety Office has vowed to collaborate with the several departments involved to launch crackdowns on similar illegal behaviors and make sure that edible oil is only transported in trucks meant for the purpose, after the tanks are cleaned, thus ensuring the safety of edible oil.