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Maxim's accused of selling moldy mooncakes that caused food poisoning

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A woman from Hong Kong was horrified when she found out that she had given moldly mooncakes to her client.

On Wednesday (Sept 16), Ejin Sight reported via Ming Pao Daily that the woman, known only as Ms Lam, had filed a complaint with the Food And Environment Hygiene Department (FEHD) in Hong Kong against popular food brand Maxim's, after she discovered that the mooncakes that she had bought from them had caused food poisoning.

Ms Lam told Ming Pao Daily that she had bought six boxes of low-sugar lotus seed paste mooncakes at the Maxim's in Tseng Wan on Aug 31, all of which had an expiry date of Oct 31.

China News reported that she then gave two boxes of the mooncakes to her client in Guangzhou.

To her horror, four days after she had given the gift, she was told that her client's four-year-old son had suffered from vomiting and food poisoning after he had eaten the mooncakes.

Ms Lam then checked the remaining four boxes of mooncakes and found green mold growing on the mooncakes.

Ms Lam was was also very unsatisfied with how Maxim's handled her complaint.

According to Sina, she had told Maxim's about her moldy purchase and that she had sent samples and photos of the mooncakes to FEHD for examination.

Instead of offering her an explanation as to what had caused her mooncakes to turn moldy, which was what Ms Lam wanted, Maxim's offered her a free exchange for the six boxes of mooncakes.

Said Ms Lam: "But they are missing the point."

According to Ming Pao Daily, Maxim's has responded to Ms Lam on the matter.

Although they stressed that food safety and hygiene has always been the brand's priority, they did not discount the possibility that there could have been tiny holes in the packaging material that resulted in mold growing on the mooncakes.

The Consumer Council in Hong Kong has advised consumers to ask shop staff to open the mooncake boxes to check the products, if possible, before buying them.

Source: Ejin Sight, Ming Pao Daily, China News, Sina

hong kongUncategorisedmoldMaxim'sFood Hygiene