China arrests 32 over gutter oil scandal

THIRTY-TWO people accused of selling tonnes of cooking oil dredged from drains have been detained in China.

More than 100 tonnes of used oil, siphoned from gutters behind restaurants, were seized in a crackdown on alleged crime gangs operating in 14 provinces.

A health ministry spokesman said: “This case has struck down a criminal chain of gutter oil producers and uncovered hidden details of the offenders’ greedy and unconscionable production of poisonous and harmful cooking oil.”

There have been scandals with cooking oil safety in China in recent years, and pictures of oil being scooped from drains have circulated widely online.

The suspects were detained as part of an investigation that began in March in the eastern province of Zhejiang.

China has struggled to rein in health and safety violations in its vast food sector despite tough punishments and repeated vows to crackdown on the problem.

Since July, Chinese courts have jailed at least a dozen people, including one person who received a suspended death sentence, for their roles in producing or selling tainted pork.

In 2008, at least six babies died and nearly 300,000 fell ill drinking formula milk laced with melamine, a plastic added to give misleadingly high results in protein tests.