Local News - Taiwan oil supplier fined US$1.67m over gutter oil
I.
Introduction
Heating an oil changes its characteristics. Oils that are healthy at room temperature can become
unhealthy when heated above certain temperatures. When choosing a cooking oil, it is important to
match the oil's heat tolerance with the cooking method. Proper disposal of used cooking oil is an
important waste-management concern. Oil is lighter than water and tends to spread into thin and broad
membranes which hinder the oxygenation of water. Because of this, a single liter of oil can contaminate
as much as 1 million liters of water. Also, oil can congeal on pipes provoking blockages. Cooking oil
can be recycled. It can be used to feed livestock, and to make soap, make-up, clothes, rubber,
detergents, and biodiesel fuel1.
II.
Pre-Reading Questions
1. Do you do any cooking?
2. What kind of cooking oil do you and your family use?
3. What does your family do with used cooking oil?
III.
First Reading
Number the ¶’s Reading of main ideas. Get a general idea of the article. No dictionary
IV.
Second Reading
Read more carefully for content. Underline unfamiliar words or words used unfamiliarly
V.
Article
Taiwan oil supplier fined US$1.67m over gutter oil2
Taiwan on Tuesday (Sep 9) fined a leading supplier more than US$1.6 million (S$2.02 million)
for selling hundreds of tons of "gutter oil" and sparking a food safety scare that gripped the
island and spread to Hong Kong and Macau.
1_TAIPEI: Taiwan on Tuesday (Sep 9) fined a leading supplier more than US$1.6 million (S$2.02
million) for selling hundreds of tons of "gutter oil" and sparking a food safety scare that gripped the
island and spread to Hong Kong and Macau.
__The NT$50 million (US$1.67 million) fine was slapped on Chang Guann Co by the Kaohsiung city
government in the south where the company is headquartered. "Chang Guann is now fined NT$50
million for having illegally sold poor-quality lard oil," the local government's health bureau said in a
1
2
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooking_oil
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/business/international/taiwan-oil-supplier-fined/1354036.html
statement.
__Investigators found that in the six months from February Chang Guann had purchased 243 tons of
tainted oil - collected from cookers, fryers and grease traps - from Kuo Lieh-cheng and mixed it with
lard oil for sale to its customers island-wide. A total of 782 tons of such oils had been produced.
__Kuo, 32, owns an illegal factory in the southern county of Pingtung at the center of the scandal. He
has been taken into custody. Five other people implicated in the case have been questioned and
released on bail.
__Yang Wan-li, spokeswoman for the prosecutors' office at Pingtung district court, told AFP the
assets of Kuo and a vice president of Chang Guann had been frozen on charges of violating the food
safety law and "their gains from the crimes must be confiscated".
__She said another factory - which allegedly recycled grease from leather processing plants to make
oils used in animal feeds - had bank accounts totaling T$7.23 million frozen by prosecutors.
__The island was already reeling from a food safety scandal last year. In the wake of the fresh scare,
hundreds of tonnes of moon-cakes, pineapple cakes, bread, instant noodles and Chinese steamed buns
and dumplings have been removed from shelves. Hundreds of restaurants have apologized to customers
for having unknowingly used tainted oil.
__More than 1,000 restaurants, bakeries and food plants had used the tainted oil, according to the
Food and Drug Administration.
__The United Daily News said in an editorial the scandal had damaged the reputation of more than
1,000 establishments and severely tarnished the image of Taiwanese food overseas. "We're afraid no
one is able to estimate how big the losses will be," it said.
__Hong Kong authorities said on Monday local chains had withdrawn from sale pineapple buns and
dumplings feared to have contained gutter oil from Taiwan. In Macau, the city's Food Safety Center
said 21 bakeries and food manufacturers had bought oil from Chang Guann through a local importer.
__Last December, a Taiwanese factory owner was sentenced to 16 years in prison for selling olive oil
adulterated with cheap cottonseed oil and the banned coloring agent copper chlorophyllin.
- AFP/ir
VI.
Word Power: Expanding Vocabulary – Choose the correct definition of the underlined word.
1. ___The NT$50 million (US$1.67 million) fine was slapped on Chang Guann Co by the
Kaohsiung city government in the south where the company is headquartered. ___
A. detailed
B. thin
C. acceptable
D. penalty payment
2. ___ Five other people implicated in the case have been questioned and released on bail. ___
A. involved
B. inside
C. questioned
D. reimbursed
3. ___. "Chang Guann is now fined NT$50 million for having illegally sold poor-quality lard oil."
___
A. plants
B. fruit
C. animal fat
D. seed
4. ___ The island was already reeling from a food safety last year. ___
A. dancing
B. spinning
C. stumbling
D. twirling
5. ___ The United Daily News said in an editorial the scandal had damaged the reputation of more
than 1,000 establishments and severely tarnished the image of Taiwanese food overseas. ___
A. damaged
B. discolored
C. oxidized
D. rusted
6. ___ A Taiwanese factory owner was sentenced to prison for selling olive oil adulterated with
cheap cottonseed oil. ___
VII.
a.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
A. grown up
B. contaminated
C. slept
D. purified
Comprehension Check
Focus on Main Ideas – Write true (T) or false (F) for each statement. Also write down the
paragraph number the information comes from.
F_ Chang Guann Co was fined by the Taipei city government in the North. _2_
__ Kuo, 32, owns an illegal factory in the central county of Nantou. ___
__ Yang Wan-li is a spokeswoman for the prosecutors' office at Pingtung district court .___
__ Taiwan was already reeling from a food safety scandal last year. ___
__ The reputation of Taiwanese food has been severely tarnished overseas. ___
__ Last December, a factory owner was sentenced to 16 years in prison for selling adulterated
olive oil. ___
b. Focus on Details – Fill in the blank and write down the paragraph number.
1. A total of 782 tons of such oils had been produced. _3_
2. Five other people __________ in the case have been questioned and released on bail. ___
3. Hundreds of tons of __________, pineapple cakes, bread, instant noodles and Chinese steamed
buns and dumplings have been removed from shelves. ___
4. In Macau, the city's Food Safety Center said 21 bakeries and food manufacturers had bought oil
from Chang Guann through a local __________. ___
5. A Taiwanese factory owner was __________ to prison for selling olive oil adulterated with
cheap cottonseed oil and the banned coloring agent copper chlorophyllin. ___
VIII.
Skill Building – The 5 W’s
Most news articles try to answer five questions: who, what, when, where, and why. These are called the
5 W’s. These are the important facts of the article.
Who?
_____________________________________________________
What?
_____________________________________________________
When?
_____________________________________________________
Where?
_____________________________________________________
Why?
_____________________________________________________
Look for the 5 W’s from the article we have just read.
Article 2
McDonald’s August sales metric hurt by supplier scandal in China3
Published: Wednesday, Sept. 10, 2014 1:15 a.m. CDT
By AP
OAK BROOK (AP) – McDonald’s said Tuesday that a key global sales figure fell 3.7 percent in
August, driven lower as the world’s biggest hamburger chain’s unit that includes the Asia-Pacific
region dropped 14.5 percent due to a food-safety scandal in China.
That unit also includes the Middle East and Africa.
McDonald’s Corp. said earlier this month that it will monitor its suppliers in China more closely after a
food-safety scandal in the country hurt its sales and reputation. The announcement came after a TV
report in July showed workers at McDonald’s supplier Shanghai Husi Food Co. – a division of OSI
Group Inc. – repacking expired meat. McDonald’s stopped using the plant in Shanghai.
3
http://www.saukvalley.com/2014/09/09/mcdonalds-august-sales-metric-hurt-by-supplier-scandal-in-china/a2qtzpl/
The company plans to increase audits and video monitoring at its suppliers and send more employees to
meat production facilities to ensure its food is prepared safely. It has also named a new food safety
officer and created a hotline where employees can report poor food safety practices.
McDonald’s is not the only fast-food company to be hurt by food-safety concerns in China. Yum
Brands Inc., whose brands include KFC and Pizza Hut, has also stopped using meat from the Shanghai
plant and said that its restaurants cut all ties with OSI in China, the United States and Australia.
McDonald’s anticipates the China scandal will hurt its third-quarter results by about 15 cents to 20
cents per share compared with its year-ago results.
In the United States, sales at established locations in operation at least 13 months declined 2.8 percent
in August. The figure dipped 0.7 percent in Europe due to weakness in Russia.