TAIPEI - Tainted lard oil in Taiwan' s latest food scandal has met hygiene standards, the island' s public health authority said Monday, but the products will still be banned from sale.

Mainland on alert after Taiwan's cooking oil scandal

Taiwan' s consumers have been gripped by fear and anger after the island' s police on Thursday busted a ring of six people selling hundreds of tonnes of recycled cooking oil made from kitchen waste and grease from leather processing plants.

Chang Guann Co., a well-established cooking oil supplier in Taiwan, purchased the recycled oil to produce 782 tonnes of lard, with 645 tonnes sold to 971 food companies and restaurants including a number of leading brands.

Chang Guann' s lard, which had been refined, met all the hygiene requirements, except for the test of heavy metals that is yet to be completed, according to Taiwan' s public health authority.

However, since Chang Guann' s refining recycled oil into lard breached the law, all the products made with the adulterated oil should be removed from shelves, the public health watchdog said.

Food manufacturers, restaurants and snack shops should stop using Chang Guann' s lard. Otherwise, the fines can range from 60,000 NT dollars (2000 US dollars) up to 50 million NT dollars, the watchdog said.

Sun Lih-chyun, spokesperson of Taiwan' s administrative authority said Chuan Guann' s products are illegal products despite the negative test results.

The authorities will mete out severe punishment for those who have broken food safety regulations, Sun assured the public.