MBS cautions Castel over substandard Sobo Squash
Malawi Bureau of Standards (MBS) has ordered Castel Group to recall, reconcile and issue an apology to consumers within seven days for supplying substandard Sobo Orange Squash last month.
In a published statement on Monday, MBS director general Davlin Chokazinga said failure to oblige to the order would result in withdrawal of the manufacturer’s certification marks, consequently suspending production of the product.
This follows revelations last month that the product under batch numbers B284, B285, B286 and B287 manufactured on December 3 2017 had its bottles bulging, produced a fizzy gas emission upon opening and strange taste.
MBS undertook thorough investigations on the products and laboratory results show that the product had high microbiological counts of yeast and moulds.
“The investigation revealed that the cause of the problem was that the production crew on that date erroneously added low quantities of preservatives [sodium benzoate and potassium sorbate] to the production batches, about one third of the required amount,” reads the statement in part.
In an earlier interview, Castel corporate communications officer Towera Munthali confirmed that 3 000 cases of the product were affected and that it had sent an alert to consumers to return the product.
