5 preserved fruit factories in Changhua used industrial additives to pass off green plums, dried mango, and preserved plums

The Changhua County Health Bureau, investigating Cunde Industrial for mixing industrial additives into food additives, found that five preserved-fruit (dried fruit) businesses are downstream of the Cunde Industrial raw materials firm, including Huaxing Dried Fruit Firm, Shengxing Dried Fruit Firm, Mingshan Dried Fruit Factory and Xieli Preserved Fruit Firm; according to the Health Bureau investigation, the operators are suspected of using industrial-grade additives such as "sodium metabisulfite" and "calcium chloride" to cure green plums, dried mango and xianli (preserved plums). At present, all problem products have been removed from shelves and sealed for storage, and the distribution of earlier products is under investigation.

Huaxing Dried Fruit Firm and Shengxing Dried Fruit Firm are suspected of using non-food-grade "sodium metabisulfite" on cured green plums to prevent browning during processing; on site, 6 tanks (150 metric tons) and 14 barrels (12.3 metric tons) of green plums were sealed respectively. Huaxing's downstream customers are preserved-fruit middlemen and not large or chain retailers, with a small portion of contract processing; Shengxing's downstream customers are online consumers.

Mingshan Dried Fruit Firm is suspected of using non-food-grade "calcium chloride" in dried mango to increase the crisp, hard texture; on site, 1 tank of cured mango, 9 metric tons of dried fruit, and 120 kg of flake industrial-use calcium chloride were sealed. Its downstream is ordinary retail channels, not large or chain retailers.

Xieli Preserved Fruit Firm is likewise suspected of using non-food-grade "calcium chloride" for curing xianli; on site, 2 curing tanks of xianli, 36 metric tons, were sealed. Its downstream is ordinary retail channels, not large or chain retailers, with very few middlemen.

The Health Bureau stated that those who sell chemical raw materials passed off as food additives to downstream food manufacturers can be punished under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation with a prison term of not more than 7 years, and may additionally be fined not more than 80 million yuan; the related matters are currently under investigation.