China’s State Council issued a statement on Monday promising to crack down on the use of recycled cooking oil at restaurants, the AP reported. The oil, called "gutter oil" in the domestic media, is China’s latest food safety scandal. The trade is usually conducted by peddlers who buy food waste and oil, then use it as slop for pigs and sell it back to restaurants, usually small operations, roadside stands and hotpot restaurants that use large quantities of oil for cooking. Experts say the use of such oil, usually collected from sewage drains or directly from the back doors of restaurants and hotels, is not immediately dangerous, but they warn of long-term health risks. Beijing is under pressure from the public and from trade partners to stop the flow of food quality scandals, but problems continue to occur, most recently with yet another melamine-tainted milk scandal in Qinghai.
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