UPDATED - PUREJOY 200ML APPLE JUICE RECALL

13 April 2018

Parmalat South Africa is continuing its investigation into the cause of the production problems that resulted in the full voluntary recall of a small batch of PureJoy 200ml Apple Juice earlier this week. The national recall affects the 200ml UHT apple juice with the best before (expiration) date of 14 AND 15/12/2015 (E 14.12.15).

Since announcing the recall, Parmalat has proactively notified all the necessary authorities of its actions and provided all information requested. The company also continues to communicate with all the relevant authorities. Parmalat spokesperson André Mahoney says their main objective “remains ensuring that we do everything in our power to communicate this message to consumers, and to make sure we are taking all possible action to recover as much of the product as possible.

“We are on track with that and the message has already gone out in print and digital media, as well as on radio and television. We’ve had a tremendous response from consumers and are still busy collecting the affected packs from people who purchased it before sales of the batch was restricted.”

Parmalat instituted the recall after following up two consumer complaints about the 200ml juice. The company’s investigation showed that a small batch, about 300 packs, of PureJoy Apple Juice contained traces of sodium hydroxide, also known as caustic soda.

Ingestion of sodium hydroxide can cause spontaneous vomiting, chest and/or abdominal pain, and/or difficulty swallowing, with excessive production of saliva. People can respond differently and consumers who drank the affected 200ml juice and have experienced these symptoms, should please consider seeking medical advice.

Anyone who purchased the 200ml UHT PureJoy Apple Juice with the best before (expiration) date of 14 AND 15/12/2015 (E 14.12.15) are urged to phone 0860 66 44 22 or mail parmalat@121group.co.za for immediate collection and refund.

Mr Mahoney has assured the public that all Parmalat’s other products are safe to consume. “This issue aside, all PureJoy products, including 200ml apple juice produced on other dates and all other flavours are safe to consume. No other Parmalat products, including no other PureJoy Juice variants, have been affected. All of our other products continue to have the high quality standards that consumers have come to expect from Parmalat.”

A thorough investigation of the production records has enabled Parmalat to isolate the problem to a production time window of less than five minutes. At that time the machine initiated an unscheduled cleaning cycle, releasing a small quantity of sodium hydroxide into the line. The production line immediately reverted to normal process conditions, hence the very short window. The cause of this malfunction is still under investigation.

*Sodium hydroxide (caustic soda) is used to clean and sterilise the production lines and there are no long term side effects to this chemical. The symptoms mentioned earlier usually occur immediately in the mouth and throat and may cause subsequent abdominal discomfort.

Full product details:

Parmalat 200ml UHT PureJoy Apple Juice is packaged in a green-coloured 200ml UHT carton with straw attached, and is marked as follows:

+ Parmalat (brand); PureJoy Juice (product)

+ Apple (flavour); 200ml (pack size)

+ Information in Best Before box on top of pack:

P 14.12.14 (production date) AND P 15.12.14

E 14.12.15 (expiry date) AND E 15.12.15

ZA 5/19 (factory code).