The head of a leading Taiwanese food company resigned on Thursday after his firm was implicated in a string of food safety scandals that resulted in hundreds of tonnes of products being pulled from shelves.

Wei Yin-chun stepped down as chairman of Wei Chuan Foods Corp, the Taiwanese unit of food giant Ting Hsin International Group which owns popular instant noodle brand Master Kong, a statement said.

“Chairman Wei is deeply saddened and blames himself over the food safety incidents. Even though the incidents may have originated from problematic materials from the suppliers, he expresses heartfelt apologies for being unable to effectively manage the origin,” the company statement said.