(Yicai) July 8 -- China Grain Reserves, also known as SinoGrain Group, and Sanhe Hopefull Grain & Oil Group have launched investigations after a media exposé claimed that the firms use tankers contaminated with coal-derived chemicals to transport liquid edibles such as syrup and soybean oil.

SinoGrain has instructed its subsidiaries to conduct inspections since July 2 to check if transport complies with food safety regulations, the state-owned company announced on Weibo recently. Any transport units found in violation will be blacklisted and major issues will be proactively reported to regulatory authorities, SinoGrain added.

Beijing News reported on July 2 that a long-term investigation has revealed that many general-purpose tankers carry both edible liquids and chemical liquids such as coal-derived oil. The probe busted the two above-mentioned companies. To cut costs, the tankers are not cleaned between shipments so edible oils are contaminated with toxic chemicals, the report added.

It is still unclear whether the commodities were sold to consumers and the resulting impact as authorities are conducting further investigations.

Coal-derived oil is a chemical product containing heavy metals and chemical substances such as benzene and using chemical tankers for edible oils will inevitably result in residual contamination, China Central Television reported, citing Dr. Liu Shaowei, a food safety expert.

Editor: Emmi Laine