Sweet buns and dumplings were pulled from the shelves in Hong Kong as authorities checked Monday whether they contained the recycled Taiwanese cooking oil that has sparked a growing regional food safety scare. An investigation was launched after the oil from a Taiwanese company accused of using illegally recycled products - including fat collected from cookers, fryers and grease traps - was exported to the southern Chinese city.
However of 46 samples taken for tests, no tainted ingredients had been detected, a statement published on the Hong Kong government website late Monday said. Taiwanese authorities say a factory in the south of the island illegally used 243 tonnes of tainted products, often referred to as "gutter oil", to mix with lard oil in a case that has reignited regional concerns about food safety.