Police Seize Tons Of Illegally Recycled Kitchen Oil in China

BEIJING — Chinese police have detained 32 people in a nationwide crackdown on “gutter oil,” or old kitchen oil that has been illegally recycled, authorities said Tuesday.

The campaign is part of an effort to clean up China’s food safety record following several embarrassing scandals, including deadly infant formula and pork tainted with clenbuterol, a banned chemical that makes pork leaner but is harmful to humans.

The Ministry of Public Security said in a statement on its website that police had seized 100 tons (90 metric tons) of the potentially harmful oil in 14 provinces.

It said six workshops were closed, including one operated by Jinan Green Bio Oil Co., a business that claimed to be turning kitchen oil into fuel but that was actually churning out recycled cooking oil that it passed off as new.

Recycled oil can contain carcinogens and traces of aflatoxin, a potentially deadly mold.


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