China’s longstanding practice of mixed transportation of edible oil and coal-made oil in oil tankers has recently been exposed, causing a public outcry. Today, Chinese media further revealed that the mixing of edible oil in water transportation also exists in addition to road transport. Following the expose, individuals have been rushing to purchase self-produced oil, imported oil, or even making their own oil at home. However, some commentators believe that under the rule of the Chinese Communist Party, avoiding mixed edible oil may not spare consumers from all food safety issues. Additionally, the recent attention from state media on this oil issue has raised suspicions of a diversion of attention tactic.
According to a report by Caixin on the 13th, whether through maritime or inland waterway transportation, edible oil does not have dedicated transport vessels, making the phenomenon of mixed loading with other oil products very common.
A captain of a specialized edible oil transport vessel informed a customer, “In the past, nobody regulated mixed transport. You could load cooking oil after carrying white oil (chemically synthesized oil) as long as you could provide a tank cleaning certificate. Tank cleaning was not strict, and you could easily arrange a fake cleaning certificate, and the grain and oil companies would not scrutinize it closely.”
A person in charge of a ship cleaning company revealed that it is common practice in the industry to transport edible oil after other oils, requiring tank cleaning in between. “But as long as you pay a couple of thousand yuan, we can directly issue you tank cleaning certificates, gas elimination certificates, and change of product type certificates.”
It is reported that the cleaning company has been engaged in tank cleaning services for over 20 years, serving clients across the Yangtze River Basin.
Since the revelation of mixed transportation of edible oil and chemical oil on land, all grain and oil companies have been rectifying and intensifying inspections, while maritime authorities have also begun strict inspections. According to the captain, fake cleaning certificates that used to cost a maximum of 3,000 yuan in the past now require tens of thousands of yuan.
Starting in 2021, ships engaged in inter-provincial vegetable oil transportation on the Yangtze River water system need to hold an “Chemical Ship Vegetable Oil Transportation” operation permit. Ships that originally obtained a “General Cargo Ship Vegetable Oil Transportation” operation permit must either exit the market or undergo renovation for a permit change. Major grain and oil companies have also established a fleet of specialized edible oil transport vessels.
However, several inland port and shipping personnel have stated that despite the specialized transport of edible oil after rectification, there still exists mixed transportation issues among many third-party edible oil water transport companies due to lax supervision.
On July 2, the Beijing News exposed some oil tankers that, after unloading kerosene, directly loaded edible soybean oil without proper cleaning, highlighting the open secret of mixed transportation within the industry. The implicated parties in this exposure include edible oil enterprises Yihai Kerry, Jinlongyu Food Group, Huifu Grain and Oil Group, Shandong Luhua Group, and the China Grain Reserves Corporation, among others.
The chaos of mixed tanker transportation has been prevalent for over 20 years. The Southern Daily reported in 2005 on the issue of tanker cleaning difficulty leading to cross-contamination, where tankers carried dangerous chemicals followed by food products. A decade later, Hunan TV’s urban channel once again exposed the inner workings of “toxic chemical transportation vehicles illegally loading edible oil.”
In recent days, numerous consumers, distrusting the quality of edible oil, have been flocking to supermarkets to purchase locally produced “self-operated edible oil.” Simultaneously, imported oil and household oil presses have seen a sudden surge in popularity on e-commerce platforms.
In recent years, food safety incidents in China have been rampant and unabated. From tainted milk powder, contaminated rice, toxic pork, dyed bean sprouts, capsule fillings, recycled oil, Sudan red in duck eggs, to colored buns… In today’s mainland China, there are hardly any food items that are truly safe.
Commentator Yuan Bin wrote in Epoch Times today, stating that with the income of the average person, it is impossible to buy all imported food products and self-produce everything. Therefore, ultimately, even if the edible oil one consumes is relatively safe, the other foods consumed are still risky and laden with danger.
“Under the rule of the Communist Party, people in today’s China not only endure political pressure and economic exploitation but also eat their meals nervously at the table, unable to relax.”
The Chinese oil tanker mixing incident has sparked public debate while official media unusually criticized the involved state-owned enterprises, implying the country’s prevalent cancer cases are related to this issue.
The Communist Party has traditionally suppressed public opinion, making many societal hot-button issues off-limits for discussion. However, this time, there has been a departure from the norm, with state media sensationalizing the issue and the Chinese State Council claiming to investigate. Many mainland Chinese citizens suggested to NTD that the authorities are using this event to shift focus following the compulsory vaccination during the pandemic, with many attributing cancer outbreaks to edible oil pollution.
A Chinese citizen named Zheng expressed, “It’s probably a diversion of attention. Maybe after some people received vaccination shots a few years ago, severe aftereffects emerged. After I got vaccinated, various health problems arose, including knee pain. This is relatively mild; others have developed lung cancers, which are widespread now. Those who were vaccinated have lung nodules. In fact, blaming the oil tanker issue now just serves as a scapegoat.”
Another Chinese citizen named Zhou suggested that the authorities might sacrifice certain state enterprise personnel and entities. However, in today’s China, the issue of food safety is ubiquitous, with edible oil contamination being just one facet of a larger problem.