Malawi-banned-Mozambican-drink-Frozy? Not harmful to your health, say Lab results

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Malawi-banned-Mozambican-drink-Frozy? Not harmful to your health, say Lab results

5:34 CAT | 14 Feb 2017

Laboratory tests on samples of Mozambique soft drink Frozy reveal that the product is not harmful, Director of the National Institute for Standardization and Quality (INNOQ) Alfredo Sitoe announced at a press conference held yesterday in Maputo.

Tests were carried out by the Mozambican Ministry of Health after Malawian authorities decided to ban the sale of the soft drink for allegedly having a high citric acid content.

Examinations carried out at the time indicated that the product had a citric acid content of 0.1 to 0.5 mg/100 ml and was therefore not harmful to health.

The Ministry of Health concluded that there was no problem with the product. For absolute assurance, samples were also sent for testing abroad, which likewise confirmed that the product was safe, Sitoe said.

The results were sent to Malawi, who decided to send a team to Mozambique to collect samples of the product.

“At the end of December, Malawi sent a technician who collected samples of the 13 flavors. These have been tested and the results confirm that the product is not harmful to health,” said Sitoe.

The Malawi Bureau of Standards did however require the company to label the product in English or the local language Chichewa, in accordance with the laws of the country, which the company promised to do by April 20 this year.

“Unfortunately we have never received any official response from the Malawi Bureau of Standards. We were waiting for an official response because the initial one said that the product could enter Malawi if labeled in English and indicating the distributor in English or Chichewa,” he said.

According to Sitoe, Frozy says it has never exported the product to Malawi, so the product must have entered the country illegally.

“The company has never sent the product to that country. We do not know how the product entered Malawi, but it did not get there via the Frozy company,” the INNOQ director said.

Source: AIM Moçambique