臺灣食品大亨因劣質油醜聞面臨指控

A Taiwanese food industry tycoon faces more than 130 charges carrying a possible sentence of up to 30 years in prison in connection with a scandal over the widespread sale of substandard cooking oil.

由於捲入一起大量銷售劣質食用油的醜聞，臺灣食品業的一名大亨面臨130多項指控，可能被判處至多30年的刑期。

Wei Ying-chung, 57, is the highest-profile suspect to face prosecution over revelations that have raised widespread questions about the safety of food in Taiwan and the quality of its food exports. Mr. Wei’s family owns the Ting Hsin International Group, which has broad interests in the food industry, particularly in China, where its Kang Shi Fu instant noodles are ubiquitous.

現年57歲的魏應充(Wei Ying-chung)是這起醜聞中面臨起訴的最出名嫌疑人。醜聞的曝光使得人們紛紛質疑臺灣的食品安全，以及該地出口食品的質量。魏應充所在家族擁有頂新國際集團，在飲食行業涉獵廣泛，尤其是在中國大陸，集團出品的康師傅方便麪隨處可見。

Earlier this month, Mr. Wei stepped down as chairman of three Ting Hsin subsidiaries, and the company announced it was pulling out of the Taiwan market for cooking oil. Prosecutors ordered Mr. Wei be detained two weeks ago as the investigation into the companies expanded.

本月早些時候，魏應充卸下頂新集團旗下三家分公司的董事長職務，集團還宣佈將退出臺灣的食用油市場。兩週前，隨着針對該集團旗下公司的調查的深入，檢察部門下令將魏應充羈押。

The food safety scandal has centered on substandard cooking oil, often called “gutter oil” or “rancid oil.” The latest problems emerged in September, when the police raided a factory in southern Taiwan that was processing oil using waste from restaurants and slaughterhouses.

這起食品安全醜聞的焦點是劣質食用油——常被稱爲“地溝油”或“變質油”。最新的問題於今年9月浮出水面。當時，警方突擊搜查了臺灣南部的一家工廠，其生產的食用油回收自餐廳廢棄物和屠宰場副產品。

That investigation implicated a company, Chang Guann, that had sold hundreds of tons of tainted oil across Taiwan and for export around the region to locations including Hong Kong and Macau. Its chairman, Yeh Wen-hsiang, faces 235 counts of fraud and other charges.

針對此事的調查牽出了強冠公司。這家企業賣出了數百噸劣質食用油，不僅在臺灣各地出售，還銷往該地區很多地方，包括香港和澳門。公司董事長葉文祥(Yeh Wen-hsiang)面臨欺詐等類別的235項指控。

The investigation into Ting Hsin was announced a month later. But Wei Chuan Foods Corporation, one of Ting Hsin’s Taiwan subsidiaries, had been involved in a food safety scandal last year, when it was found to have sold cooking oil that was substandard and contained illegal additives.

一個月後，針對頂新集團的調查被公之於衆。不過，頂新旗下的臺灣分公司味全去年即身陷一起食品安全醜聞。公司遭曝光販售含有違法添加物的劣質食用油。

In the latest scandal, Ting Hsin is accused of selling cooking oils tainted with substandard materials, including products meant for animal feed it imported from Hong Kong and Vietnam. While no cases of serious illness have been linked to the scandal, it has raised questions about long-term effects and why the problem continued for more than a year after the first warning signs emerged.

在最近的這起醜聞中，頂新集團被控其銷售的食用油裏採用了劣質原材料，包括從香港和越南進口的本應用於動物飼料的產品。儘管尚未有嚴重病患被證明與這樁醜聞有關，但人們提出了有關長期副作用的擔憂，並且質疑爲何問題持續了一年多才開始出現警告。