Taipei  - The Taipei County government said Monday it would fine the McDonald's and Domino's Pizza for high arsenic levels in their frying oil.

In a random test of seven fast-food restaurant, inspectors found two McDonald's outlets and one Domino's Pizza store failed to meet Taiwan's safety requirements for frying oil.

The arsenic levels in the two McDonald's outlets were 1.038 ppm and 0.923 ppm (parts per million), while the arsenic level in the Domino's outlet was 1.105 ppm. State regulations say arsenic in frying oil cannot exceed 0.1 ppm.

County officials said they will fine the companies as much as 9,000 US dollars.

"Arsenic is highly toxic, so we want to impose the fine according to health regulations. McDonald's and Domino's can appeal before July 23 and demand a repeat test. If test result shows their frying oil is safe, we will drop the fine," Hsu Ming-neng, head of the health department of the Taipei County Government, said.

McDonald's is the largest foreign fast-food chain in Taiwan, with 348 outlets across the island. Domino's has 119 outlets in Taiwan. (dpa)