Two juice plants halt production after 'rotten fruit' report

Two fruit juice companies have been ordered to suspend production to assist an investigation after a media report that they had used rotten or unripe fruit in their products.

The China Food and Drug Administration (CFDA) branch in Dangshan county in Anhui province on Monday inspected production sites of Anhui Dangshan Haisheng Fruit Juice, a subsidiary of Shaanxi Haisheng Fresh Fruit Juice, and Wanbei Fruit Juice, of the Beijing Huiyuan Group, and found no stocks of rotten fruit, according to an agency statement.

The two plants were nonetheless ordered to stop production for "self-examination" and help in the investigation. Product samples were taken for tests.

The probe came after the reported on Monday that the two companies in Dangshan county collected rotten fruit from farmers as raw material.

The report also cited a branch of Yantai North Andre Juice in Jiangsu province and a branch of Beijing Huiyuan in Shandong province as carrying out similar practices.

Shandong Huiyuan has not produced any juice since December last year and the Jiangsu branch of Andre Juice did not produce any juice on Monday.