Poor-quality food products detected

Meat and edible oil sold by Hema Fresh, an Alibaba Group food retailer, and Lianhua Supermarket have failed quality tests, the city's market watchdog said on Wednesday. 

A batch of sausages sold by an outlet of Hema Fresh in Huangpu District had excessive bacterial colonies and coliform groups, according to the Shanghai Market Supervision and Management Bureau. 

The substandard food was made by Shanghai Lijier Food Co Ltd in Songjiang District on March 4, according to the bureau. The sausage weighed 250 grams per box. 

Five samples of the sausage were tested and a sample had bacterial colonies totaling 1.5 million CFU (colony-forming units) per gram, 14 times the national food safety standard. 

Its coliform groups amount totaled 8,600 CFU per gram, or 86 times of the limit of 100 CFU/g which is the national standard.

It was not the first time that Hema has come under fire. 

It was entangled in a label swapping scandal in November.

A shopper surnamed Fang said that he saw an employee at the Daning store ripping labels off carrots with production dates of November 9, 10 and 11, and sticking on new ones dated November 15.

The company offered Fang a 1,000-yuan cash incentive to keep his mouth shut, which he turned down. He informed Jing’an authorities.

Hema Fresh apologized and said it was “ashamed” of the incident.

The general manager of Hema Fresh Shanghai was sacked as a result. 

In December, it came under fire again after a customer claimed coconut milk she bought from an outlet in the Pudong New Area was more than two months out of date.

The woman bought two cans of Real Thai coconut milk priced 19 yuan at the Jinqiao outlet of Hema Fresh on December 1. The production date was April 28, 2017, and the expiry date was September 28 last year.

Hema said the coconut milk was among some stolen products retrieved on November 27. It said the product was put back on shelves by mistake.

It was fined 50,000 yuan by the Pudong New Area Market Supervision and Management Bureau. 

Meanwhile, a batch of sunflower seed oil sold at the Zhongshan Road W. outlet of Lianhua Supermarket in Changning District failed for the composition of fatty acid, according to Shanghai Market Supervision and Management Bureau. 

It was produced by Shanghai Lianglong Grain and Oil Co Ltd in the Pudong New Area on February 23 and weighed 1.5 liters per bottle, according to the bureau. 

The index of the composition of fatty acid is a sign of bad-quality oil, experts said. 

In total, 668 batches of foods including dairy, seasoning and biscuits were checked. 

The information about substandard products will be recorded in the city's food safety credibility files of food businesses, the bureau said.