Pineapples are super sweet because they add sweetener! i3fresh Ai Shang Xin Xian Thai-imported Longwang pineapple tested positive for sweetener, already taken off shelves
Imported Thai "Dragon King" pineapple has been exposed after testing positive for "sweetener"! The first wave of "sweetener Dragon King pineapple" hit the e-commerce platform "i 3 fresh Ai Shang Xin Xian" company, which already launched a preventive removal from shelves on 7/7, taking down a total of 1,560 packs, 780 kg of Dragon King pineapple products; products on the Ai Shang Xin Xian website have been removed from shelves. The Taipei City Department of Health simultaneously launched random testing and traced the batch of products to Green Star Enterprise Co., Ltd., which is responsible for the import. At present, the inventory in the Green Star plant that has not yet been sold and is scheduled for shipment must all be sealed with labels and may not be sold.
City councilor exposes it, Taipei City Department of Health confirms it: pineapple illegally added with "sweetener"
A member of the public complained to Taipei City councilor Huang Hsiang-chun that the "Thai fresh-frozen Dragon King pineapple" product sold online by Ai Shang Xin Xian Co., Ltd. was extremely sweet and suspected of containing added sweetener; Huang sent a sample of a "whole peeled, uncut Dragon King pineapple product" to the Department of Health for testing, which detected the sweetener commonly known as "sweetener," sodium cyclamate, at 1.10 g/kg.
The Department of Health stated that the sweetness of sweetener is about 30 to 60 times that of an equal amount of sucrose, and if consumed over the long term, it may increase the burden on the consumer's kidney function.
"According to the domestic Standards for the Scope, Limits and Specifications of Food Additives, sweetener may only be used in preserved fruits, melon seeds, carbonated beverages, sugar substitute tablets, powders and special nutritional foods." Wang Ming-li, chief of the Food and Drug Division of the Taipei City Department of Health, stated that according to regulations, "fresh fruit may not be added with it." This batch of imported Thai Dragon King pineapple already violated food safety regulations.
A total of 12 metric tons imported, totaling 24,000 packs
Wang Ming-li stated that when the Department of Health received the unsafe information at the time, it had already, in accordance with Article 10 of the Taipei City Food Safety Autonomous Ordinance, within 48 hours preventively removed from shelves 1,560 packs, 780 kg of the questionable Dragon King pineapple products of Ai Shang Xin Xian Co., Ltd.
The Department of Health subsequently launched comprehensive random testing, and the test results showed that the batch of products indeed violated Article 18 of the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation, so in accordance with Article 52 of the Food Safety Act, the importer Green Star Company was required to seal and store the relevant inventory goods; and Green Star Enterprise Co., Ltd.'s most recent import on June 9, 106 ROC year (2017) was 12 metric tons, totaling 24,284 packs; in addition, under Article 47 of the Food Safety Act, a fine of no less than NT$30,000 and no more than NT$3 million may be imposed.
Ai Shang Xin Xian: full refund or replacement with an equivalent product
Why exactly did Thai Dragon King pineapple become contaminated with "sweetener"? Ai Shang Xin Xian Co., Ltd. explained externally that Green Star's procurement end in Thailand, without informing Green Star, bought part of the pineapple raw material from other factories on the grounds of insufficient goods and sold it to Taiwan, "this may be the reason why part of the pineapple raw material was detected in Taiwan as containing food additives."
Ai Shang Xin Xian stated externally that as long as consumers purchased the "Thai Dragon King pineapple" sold on the platform and imported by Green Star between May 1 and July 7 before the products were removed from shelves, they may contact customer service by phone to apply for a full refund, or directly exchange it for other equivalent goods.