Several popular hand-shaken drink brands and coffee shops have not correctly labeled the origin of the tea they use or the amount of caffeine contained in their products, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said on Wednesday.
The FDA earlier this year inspected 258 convenience stores, mobile coffee outlets and hand-shaken beverage shops to determine if they are registered with local authorities, comply with Good Hygiene Practice and correctly label their products.
It found that some stores, including Louisa Coffee, Comebuy, Itso Tea and tea house Gui Ji, incorrectly labeled the origin of their tea leaves, while Gui Ji and Taoyuan-based tea shop chain Cao Ben Tea incorrectly stated the sugar and calorie content of their beverages.
Photo: George Tsorng, Taipei Times
In terms of caffeine content, HWC Roasters, Bob Cafe and the Hi-Life convenience store chain failed to provide the amount of caffeine in their coffee beverages, it said.
Louisa Coffee was also found to have falsely labeled the geographic origin of its coffee beans, the FDA said.
In addition, after testing 332 random samples ranging from beverage raw materials to containers from the 258 shops, the FDA found that ice cubes used by some beverage shops — including Comebuy’s Sheng-Shin branch in Keelung, one of Like Tea Shop’s Taichung branches and Tea House in Yunlin County’s Dongshi Township (東勢) — failed to meet required sanitary standards.
The FDA said that those caught selling falsely labeled beverages or failing to meet sanitary standards face fines of NT$30,000 to NT$3 million (US$1,052 to US$105,241) under the Act Governing Food Safety and Sanitation (食品安全衛生管理法).
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