The Litra oil by CJ has been suspended from sales due to the recent emergence of suspicions of its potential cancercausing effects. |
By Do Je-hae
Staff Reporter
A leading local food manufacturer has suspended sales of its flagship cooking oils in light of questions raised over their safety.
CJ Cheil Jedang announced Wednesday that it will discontinue sales of Litra, a premium low-fat cooking oil, which is suspected to contain carcinogens.
The measures were announced after Japanese food manufacturer Kao recently stopped sales of its own cooking oil upon determining that one of its main ingredients, glycidol fatty acid esters, could lead to cancer.
Kao Corp said that it will suspend shipments of Econa cooking oil from Thursday. When Kao recently analyzed the Econa products, it found them to contain glycidol fatty acid esters at considerably high levels.
The two types of Litra oils also contain an ingredient categorized as carcinogenic.
``Recent safety concerns regarding our products have yet to be substantiated. We will, however, conduct pre-emptive recall measures to assuage consumer fears,'' a CJ official said.
``In light of similar food scares in Japan, we have instructed a halt in the production and sales of the CJ products as well as voluntary recall measures,'' a spokesperson for the Korea Food and Drug Administration said.
The banned Litra products are basically generic oils and are designed to minimize the amount of calorie intake.
The authorities said that the glycidol fatty acid esters may have been generated during the manufacturing process.
``We urge consumers to stop purchasing these products until CJ is fully capable of ensuring their safety,'' they added.
When consumed, glycidol fatty acid esters could generate glycidol, categorized as a probable cancer-causing agent.
In response to consumer needs and market trend, the creation of the Litra line of cooking oils last year was based on a new concept, preventing the accumulation of fat inside the body.
CJ has stressed that the level of glycidol fatty acid esters contained in the oils in question was ``very low.''
CJ is planning to conduct a full-scale investigation into the issue, and collect outside opinion from a committee consisting of scholars and consumer associations.
Consumers registered a positive reaction to CJ's measures to keep the oils off the market until the safety issues are fully resolved.
``CJ's case could be a reference for other local food manufacturers when faced with similar problems,'' Lee Jung-soo, head of the Korea National Council of Consumer Organizations said.
``Products posing the slightest possible threat to consumer health should rightly be banned from sales,'' a netizen said.
This is not the first time CJ has initiated swift recall measures in the face of safety complaints.
Last June, CJ recalled its Ginseng drinks after an inspection found that some contained microorganisms that affected taste.
That was the first time a major local food manufacturer had voluntarily recalled its own product since regulations were adopted in 1995.
CJ, formerly known as Cheil Jedang, was established in 1953 as a unit of Samsung Group. In 1997, when owned by Lee Jae-hyun, a grandson of the late Samsung founder Lee Byung-chull, it formally split from Samsung.
jhdo@koreatimes.co.kr
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yistory@koreatimes.co.kr
