Taipei, July 12 (CNA) Costco Taiwan has recalled 138 of the 757 kilograms of an imported cheese it sold after it was discovered to contain a potentially cancer-causing compound, the Taiwan Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said Wednesday.
The recall update was announced four days after the FDA confirmed that they had ordered the American wholesaler to recall the Formaggio brand marinated mozzarella cheese found to contain ethylene oxide, a chemical compound associated with lymphoma and leukemia.
The chemical, which is banned in food products in Taiwan, is used in the United States — where Formaggio brand cheese is produced — in the sterilization of some spices, dried herbs and dried vegetables.
The food safety issue came to light after the Taiwanese government first detected the chemical on June 26 in a 457 kilogram Costco cheese shipment that had arrived on June 18 and rejected it from entering Taiwan.
Upon discovery, the FDA ordered further checks on a separate 914 kg batch of marinated mozzarella already in Costco’s possession, which was also confirmed to be tainted.
However, of the 914 kg of cheese, just 157 kg was still in the Costco storage unit, meaning that 757 kg had potentially already been sold, the FDA said on July 8.
In addition to the two problematic cheese shipments, the FDA said Wednesday Costco had also imported 4,798 kg of the Formaggio brand marinated mozzarella cheese in seven shipments earlier this year, but that no recall is planned because the two-month shelf-life of the cheese had already expired.
Depending on how serious the situation is, Costco could be fined between NT$60,000 (US$1,928.98) and NT$200 million, under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation.
Regarding future cheese products imported by Costco, border inspections will increase to between 20 and 50 percent of total imports, a rise from the current rate of between 2 and 10 percent, health authorities said.
