The National Consumer Commission has urged consumers to return 100% Apple juice produced by Pioneer Foods.

Acting National Consumer Commissioner, Thezi Mabuza, said the supplier informed the Commission of the precautionary recall of both LiquFruit and Ceres 100% apple juice.

“Consumers who have these products must not consume them but return them immediately to the point of purchase. We understand that the recall follows Pioneer Foods’ quality routine checks and laboratory testing that revealed elevated levels of mycotoxin patulin found in the product.

“The risk of consuming mycotoxin (patulin) exceeding 50 parts per billion (50 microgram/kg) may lead to vomiting, nausea and gastrointestinal discomfort. We urge consumers who bought these products to return them to any retail store for a full refund or a replacement voucher” added Acting Commissioner Mabuza,” Mabuza said in a statement on Friday.

Mabuza said the Commission is working closely with the supplier to monitor the recall.

She said the company told the Commission that LiquiFruit products were distributed nationwide, including Botswana and Namibia, while Ceres products were exported to 25 countries.

“The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) provides for safety of consumers at all times, we therefore encourage consumers to also monitor their health in cases where they have already consumed these products.

“We are pleading with producers/manufacturers to strengthen their quality checks routines/processes to avoid these mishaps. The Commission is monitoring the recall based on its Recall Guidelines and also allowing the supplier to conduct further investigations to detect any further potential risk,” Mabuza said.

Source: South African Government News Agency