THE Shenzhen Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initiated an investigation on the cooking oil used in the canteens of Shenzhen University (SZU) as a food quality report released Dec. 10 suggested that the university was suspected of using gutter oil.

    A screenshot of the report regarding the use of cooking oil in university canteens was widely shared online Saturday, indicating that some SZU canteens might have used gutter oil for cooking, which aroused concerns among SZU teachers and students. The report was issued by a testing company known as Jianhe Oil Testing.

    In response to the report, the university’s logistics department carried out an internal investigation and issued a statement the same day, saying that the cooking oil used by SZU was from certified companies which had won biddings, and that the university would invite the relevant supervision department to examine the quality of the university’s cooking oil.

    The city’s FDA also launched a prompt investigation on this issue and released an announcement.

    According to the FDA, the oil producing company, named Zhongliang Xinsha, is a subordinate enterprise of COFCO (China Oil and Food Import and Export Corp.) and had undergone and passed rounds of spot checks last year and this year.

    The Shenzhen FDA also arranged for third-party testing organizations to conduct new examinations on 10 batches of oil produced by this company, but the results are yet to be confirmed.

    According to the verification of Shenzhen FDA, the screenshot that was widely shared online was part of the statistics from scientific research conducted by the Jianhe oil testing company.

    The research concerned the national-standard test methods of used cooking oil, but the company’s method has not yet been appraised by higher authorities.

    Later Sunday afternoon, the university’s logistics department released a further statement. The department said in the statement that it had not only reported the case to Shenzhen FDA and requested an inspection, but also stopped using oil produced by Zhongliang Xinsha and temporarily purchased other brands of cooking oil from big supermarkets.

    (Zhang Qian, Liu Shiyang)