Appletiser recalls products due to toxins found

Appletiser has done a voluntary product recall after routine quality testing found several of their batches were outside “acceptable standards”.

Last week, the sparkling juice brand released a statement expressing their main concern as the “wellbeing” of consumers.

“The health and wellbeing of our consumers is our primary concern and we have taken a decision to withdraw all affected stock from the market nationwide, with immediate effect,” Appletiser said.

The National Consumer Commission has urged consumers who have brought Appletiser products recently to check the expiry dates, EWN reported.

Acting consumer commissioner Thezi Mabuza said the company’s own laboratory testing revealed some items contained toxins outside the acceptable standards.

She said the lab results showed some batches contained mycotoxin patulin exceeding 50 micrograms. She explained that consuming mycotoxin patulin exceeding 50 micrograms could lead to vomiting, nausea as well as gastrointestinal symptoms.

Appletiser products recalled are:

• Appletiser 1.2 litre – best before date 7 Nov 2021,
• Appletiser 750ml non-returnable glass – best before 30 May 2022,
• Appletiser 275ml non-returnable glass – best before 10 Jun 2022,
• Appletiser slender 330ml can – best before 18 May 2022,
• Appletiser slender 330ml can – best before 19 May 2022,
• Appletiser slender 330ml can – best before 23 May 2022.

The last massive recall of products was by KOO for its tinned foods in late July.

Tiger Brands announced customers who bought KOO and Hugo’s canned vegetable products had to return them for a refund, due to an “extremely small number of defective cans supplied by a packaging supplier”.

RELATED: Tiger Brands to recall KOO and Hugo’s tinned foods over ‘defective cans’

It saw approximately 20 million KOO and Hugo’s canned vegetable products recalled because of safety concerns.

“The cans may have a defective side seam weld that could cause the can to leak. The company identified the issue as part of its internal quality assurance processes,” the food manufacturer said in a statement at the time.