TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The District Prosecutor in Taoyuan on Jan. 26 released their findings concerning the CJ-Taian (萇記泰安) egg supplier, which was caught selling expired liquid egg products to businesses in December 2017. The findings of the investigation are alarming.

According to the press release from the Taoyuan prosecutor office, after a detailed analysis of the companies digital records of transactions and shipment dates, the company has been distributing products made from expired, and likely very rotten egg products, since 2011.

Until last December, the CJ-Taian Co. was the second largest egg wholesaler in Taiwan, with products available in almost every supermarket and hypermarket on the island. Then a failed inspection on Dec. 27, 2017 led to a halt of the company’s business, and the current investigation.

After investigations of the company’s Taoyuan headquarters by the district prosecutor’s office, over 20,000 kilograms of rotten eggs and dairy products were discovered within the company’s warehouses.

(Photo Credit: Central News Agency)

(Photo Credit: Central News Agency)

It is estimated that before the inspection at the end of 2017, that CJ-Taian was selling about 7,000 kilograms of the egg formula a day. Members of the public may have been consuming the expired egg product for the past 6 years.

According to the UDN report, in 2011, the company created an “egg inspection area” and began having employees go through batches of eggs to spot those that had already begun to discolor or rot. Reportedly, the “bad eggs” would then be sent to an area of the facility to be processed into egg based formulas that would be sold to bakeries, restaurants, and other businesses.

One of the companies that was a likely recipient of their rotten products was the well-known snack and chip manufacturer Guai Guai (乖乖), reports China Times.



Guai Guai Snacks

For the violations discovered in December 2017, the company was fined NT$ 3 million (US$ 103,000), yesterday an additional fine of NT$2 million (US$ 69,000) was added for the newly discovered violations.

In related news, Taiwan’s FDA recently introduced new strict penalties for businesses found to be in violation of health regulations; businesses who have profited over NT$10 million (US$ 344,000) from products that are deemed hazardous to the public’s health may be immediately shut down, and their company removed from the business registry in Taiwan.