A company in New Taipei City that produces Apple Sidra was on Wednesday fined for contravening food safety regulations following complaints by some consumers that they had fallen ill after drinking the soda, the city’s health department said.
Oceanic Beverages Co (大西洋飲料), a listed company on the stock market, has been fined NT$1 million (US$32,420) for failing to promptly recall the product after receiving complaints from consumers, New Taipei City Department of Health official Yang Shu-chin (楊舒秦) said.
The company also failed to report the problem to the relevant authorities as required under the self-management terms of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法), Yang said.
Photo: CNA
From July to September, Oceanic Beverages received 122 complaints about Apple Sidra, which consumers said contained sediment and was causing diarrhea and stomach aches, he said.
The complaints began in July, but the company did not recall the drink until September, Yang said.
During the three-month period, Oceanic Beverages sold about 2.35 million 2 liter bottles of Apple Sidra, which the alleged contamination problem was limited to, he said.
On Tuesday, the city’s health department ordered Oceanic Beverages to recall all Apple Sidra drinks produced on or before Sept. 28, but said the company could replace them with soda produced after that date.
In a statement released the same day, Oceanic Beverages said the problem was limited to its 2 liter plastic bottle product and that it would replace them as the health department had suggested.
Laboratory tests ordered by the health department found no harmful levels of bacteria in the soda, Yang said.
However, an inspection of the Apple Sidra plant in Taoyuan found that the drink had been contaminated with a substance on the production line due to faulty equipment, he said.
Consumers’ Foundation president Lei Li-fen (雷立芬) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday that Oceanic Beverages had been insincere in its handling of the issue, as it only allowed customers to exchange the problematic product with a new bottle of Apple Sidra.
In accordance with the Consumer Protection Act (消費者保護法), the company should give an unconditional refund and should provide compensation that is three times the amount each affected customer paid for the problematic product, Lei said.
Additional reporting by Chen Yi-chia
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