China to ramp up crack-down on ‘gutter oil’

BEIJING China will intensify a crack down on the use of recycled “gutter oil”, strengthening controls on oil origins and monitoring processing, according to a document released by the State Council on Monday.

China has cracked down on food safety in recent years after a series of scandals, including the use of recycled gutter oil – cooking oil that has been recycled from sources such as restaurant waste and discarded animal byproducts.

But the illicit production and sale of gutter oil has continued, the document said.

The document said restaurants and meat processors must collect and store kitchen and meat waste separately, and dispose of it properly.

Beijing will also strengthen supervision of slaughter houses, meat processors, edible oil producers and restaurants, the document said, and online sellers of fake edible oil will be punished.

(Reporting by Hallie Gu and Dominique Patton; editing by Susan Thomas)