Shanghai Daily

Orange spat juiced up by watchdog’s clean tests

- Hu Min

SONGJIANG District market watchdog conducted spot checks yesterday into a Shanghai company which operates Vingoo orange juice vending machines across the country after action by authoritie­s in Shenzhen in south China’s Guangdong Province.

Songjiang Market Supervisio­n and Management Bureau found no problems with the vending machines, and officials suggested different results were the result of different testing methods.

Geant Investment, owner of Vingoo vending machines, was fined 1.2 million yuan (US$180,000) by Shenzhen Market Inspection Bureau after some components of the machines which came into contact with orange juice were ruled to be in breach of standards.

The components referred to are two claws made of aluminum alloy and a piece of polypropyl­ene on the top of the upper claw, officials with Songjiang Market Supervisio­n and Management Bureau said.

Tests found the polypropyl­ene came into contact with the juice but the claws only touched the peel, said Gao Guoliang, director of the food manufactur­ing department of the bureau.

Polypropyl­ene is obviously not aluminum alloy and therefore does not need an organic coating, said Gao.

Officials in Shenzhen viewed the polypropyl­ene as part of the claws, while Shanghai authoritie­s tested them separately.

“We conducted an investigat­ion immediatel­y, and both on-the-spot and laboratory tests showed the machines were up to standard,” said Gao.

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