Tank Trucks Mixed-Hauling Cooking Oil: Who Is Guarding Edible Oil Quality and Safety?
Recently, a major food safety incident has attracted widespread public attention. According to an investigative report by The Beijing News, two tank trucks that had just unloaded coal-to-liquid oil were, without any cleaning, loaded with cooking oil. This serious violation involved two well-known edible oil companies.
▲ “Video | Investigation into Tank Truck Transport Chaos” — The Beijing News X Investigation
Experts warn that such mixed hauling may cause serious harm to consumer health. Food safety experts point out that residues of chemical raw materials such as heavy metals and benzene contained in coal-to-liquid oil may cause poisoning, leading to symptoms such as nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea, and even irreversible damage to organs such as the liver and kidneys. Worryingly, this mixed-hauling phenomenon may not be an isolated case. It is estimated that a tank truck mixing kerosene and cooking oil could affect the health and safety of nearly 100,000 ordinary consumers.
▲ The Beijing News X Investigation
Even more worrying is that China currently lacks a mandatory national standard to regulate the transport of bulk cooking oil. The existing “GB/T 30354-2013 Code of Practice for Bulk Transport of Edible Vegetable Oil” is only a recommended standard, with limited binding force. Although the Food Safety Law prohibits storing and transporting food together with toxic and harmful substances, the penalties appear insufficient to curb such behavior.
Under these circumstances, strengthening the detection of food contaminants in edible oil is particularly important. China has established detection standards for food contaminants, providing an important basis for edible oil quality control. GB 2762-2017 “National Food Safety Standard — Maximum Levels of Contaminants in Foods”: this standard specifies the maximum limits of heavy metals such as lead, arsenic, and mercury, as well as contaminants such as aflatoxin, in various foods. Coal-to-liquid oil usually contains high concentrations of heavy metals; testing the heavy metal content in cooking oil against this standard can reveal potential coal-to-liquid oil contamination.
While focusing on food contaminant issues, strengthening the quality and safety testing of edible oil itself is equally important. The state has formulated a series of strict regulations and standards to comprehensively control oil quality and safety.
1. GB/T 5009.1-2016 “National Food Safety Standard — Determination of Total Fat in Foods”: this standard can be used to determine the total fat content in cooking oil to ensure oil purity.
2. GB/T 5009.3-2016 “National Food Safety Standard — Determination of Acid Value in Foods”: acid value is an important indicator of oil quality, reflecting the freshness and storage conditions of the oil.
3. GB/T 5009.6-2016 “National Food Safety Standard — Determination of Peroxide Value in Foods”: peroxide value is an important indicator of the degree of oil oxidation and can be used to judge whether the oil has deteriorated.
4. GB/T 5009.16-2016 “National Food Safety Standard — Determination of Rancidity of Oils and Fats in Foods”: this standard can be used to detect whether oil has become rancid, further ensuring the quality and safety of cooking oil.
5.GB 5009.168-2016 “National Food Safety Standard — Determination of Fatty Acids in Foods”: this standard is crucial for determining the fatty acid composition of cooking oil. By analyzing the types and content of fatty acids, the authenticity and purity of the oil, as well as whether it has been adulterated or substituted, can be judged.
The above standards cover not only contaminant detection but also the quality indicators of the oil itself. Relevant authorities and enterprises should strictly implement these standards and use reference standards for quality-control testing to ensure the quality and safety of cooking oil from the source.
CATO provides corresponding testing reference standards to support strict quality control of edible oil safety testing:
This incident once again sounded the alarm for food safety, revealing loopholes in China's food safety regulatory system. It concerns not only corporate integrity but also the dining-table safety of countless households. Only by establishing a comprehensive and strict testing system covering the entire process—from raw material procurement and production processing to transportation and sales—can we maximize the safety of cooking oil, prevent similar mixed-hauling incidents from recurring, and effectively protect consumers' health rights.