Thai health officials conduct surprise
inspections of fresh orange juice vendors after photos posted on social media
site show a backyard producer diluting the juice with water from a hose.
BANGKOK—Thai
health officials are conducting surprise inspections of fresh orange juice
vendors around the country after photos posted on Facebook showed a backyard
producer adulterating the juice in big plastic tubs.
Thailand’s
Food and Drug Administration announced the crackdown Wednesday in response to
an uproar over the pictures, which showed a couple diluting orange juice with
water streamed from a garden hose, and then adding sugar and orange food
coloring.
Small
plastic bottles, touted as freshly squeezed, are widely sold at street stalls
and small shops for 20 baht ($0.55) and up.
Police
arrested the couple in Saraburi province, north of Bangkok, on Monday.
Depending on the ingredients found in their concoction, they could face up to
two years in jail and a 50,000 baht ($1,400) fine. They are already liable for
selling a product in a sealed container without proper labeling.
The
crackdown has resulted in confiscations from five vendors selling orange juice
from carts in Bangkok’s Chinatown.
“They
were selling their products without labels showing the ingredients, nutritional
values and certification from the FDA,” said the director of the agency’s
Bureau of Food, Tipyon Parinyasiri. “We took their identification cards to make
sure they don’t run off with their carts before the analysis of their products
is complete.”
FDA
Deputy Secretary General Paisarn Dunkhum advised the public against assuming
the product is real just because there are oranges and peels nearby.
Some
vendors, including those who insist their product is 100 per cent pure, said
their business has dropped off because of the scandal.
No comments:
Post a Comment