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China's leading juice maker denies using rotten fruit
匯源等國產果汁被爆用腐爛水果榨汁
The Government has launched a probe into the alleged use of rotten fruit by one of China's biggest juice makers. China Huiyuan Juice Group Ltd. has denied the allegation, but will it affect the company's sales?
Sales of China Huiyuan Juices Group Ltd are far from rotten.
Zhao Cheng says his customers are still loving Huiyuan’s juice selection.
His store is selling 20 boxes per week, just as usual.
"Sales are still very good and there’s been no official word to take the products off the shelf." Store manager Zhao Cheng said.
News of the probe spread quickly.
But HuiYuan’s juices still remain the champion amongst loyal customers.
"It doesn’t matter. I just like drinking it." A customer said.
"I’ll still buy it. It’s easy and is available at almost every market." A customer said.
Two branches of Huiyuan are under investigation by the China Food and Drug Administration. The company stands accused of using rotten fruit in its juice products.
The CFDA says it’s taking the allegations "very seriously" and has launched an immediate investigation.
The CFDA has already carried out an initial investigation at Huiyuan’s Beijing Branch, finding no evidence of the rotten fruit claim.
It also cleared the names of two other companies.
But some customers say they’re not taking any chances.
"I don’t think I’ll be buying this brand anymore. I’d rather buy imported juice. It might be more expensive, but it’s better than a potentially unsafe local brand." A customer said.
"It doesn’t surprise me. I’d rather pay more and feel safe." A customer said.
The probe was initiated following a media report by the 21st Century Business Herald. The report claimed that rotten fruit had been bought from farmers in several provinces, in order to cut costs.
Huiyan stock prices plunged to a three-week low following the news.
But they’ve quickly rebounded.
Reporter: "The latest incident renews concerns over food safety in China. Previous food scandals have some questioning what to trust or not. A Pew Research recently found that four in 10 Chinese people feel food safety is a very big problem."
In order to improve food security, China has expanded a pilot system to track the movement of meat and vegetables to supermarket shelves.
The juice probe comes just months after the scare involving milk products from New Zealand.
