Employees found to falsify fryer's oil record

The inspection was a follow-up the CPC conducted on Monday of the Jincheng street McDonald's in Tuchen City in Taipei County after employees told CPC officials the day before that frying oil was emptied everyday from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with the oil tanks subsequently washed and refilled.

Chen Kuen-rong, official of the CPC, made an impromptu visit to the restaurant around 4 p.m. yesterday. There he was told by employees that oil in every fryer had been changed.

According to Chen, closer examination and testing revealed that only one fryer was changed.

Chen then demanded to see a copy of the oil change status chart. Although the inspection had proven otherwise, the chart provided corroborated the employees' claims of daily oil changes.

Furthermore, the chart listed the oil change status for Tuesday (yesterday) as completed, a clear indication of a false report.

The store faces a potential fine of NT$30,000 to NT$300,000 for manipulating the chart and entering false data.

A spokesperson for McDonald's previously said on Monday that periodical checks regarding the quality of oil are conducted and abide by regulations of the Department of Health (DOH).

On Sunday, random CPC inspections revealed that eight fast-food restaurants — including McDonald's — have reused the same batches of oil for days.

Uncooperative legislators Cause Internet Outrage

Commentators and bloggers on the Internet expressed their outrage online when it surfaced on Monday that CPC officials' attempts to contact two legislators regarding the fast-food oil issue were blatantly rejected.

Both legislators allegedly hung up on Yang Shun-huei, an official with the CPC, with one even telling her to "stop inspecting the frying oil." Yang has not revealed the identity of the legislators.

Internet users, however, were dissatisfied with Yang's conduct. Congregating on the United Daily News commentary site, their complaint centered towards the concealed identities of the legislators.

An online poll was conducted, with the question asked "should CPC reveal the two legislators who denied the oil investigations?" An overwhelming majority (99 percent) clicked "yes."

Conspiracy theories abounded as the Internet commentators linked the legislators with protecting those who violate health regulations by reusing old oil.

"With a system like this, even a policeman doing his job will later be privately reprimanded by the big people controlling the scheme. What kind of society is this?" asked one commentator.

Yang stated that the investigations are not hindered by the legislators' lack of cooperation. She refused to further comment on the issue.

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