Compulsory Product Recall of Appletiser

2021-11-16

The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission (CCPC) has received a cautionary notice from the COMESA Competition Commission (CCC) informing the general public to avoid the purchase and consumption of some affected batches of Appletiser drinks suspected to contain mycotoxin (‘patulin’) above the permitted limit of 50 parts per billion (50ppb) for foodstuffs. 

According to the World Health Organization, patulin is a form of mycotoxin which when consumed in high levels may cause nausea, gastrointestinal disturbances and vomiting. 

The warning comes after Coca-Cola South Africa (CCSA) company, the manufacturers of Appletiser initiated a voluntary recall on or around 23rdSeptember of some batches of Appletiser from the market in South Africa only, whereas it was established that Appletiser is imported and distributed into Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Common Market), no such recall was announced or made.

In view of the above CCC requested CCSA to recall the affected products from the Common Market and issue a notice to the public indicating its distributors and related dealers in the Common Market to enable consumers identify where to return products.

Further they were directed to inform the public of any undertaking to replace the products or refund the price of the products and desist from exporting the same products to the Common Market until such a time when the defect is corrected and the general public is informed accordingly.

Considering that the recalled products are unsafe, and CCSA has not taken steps to recall them from the Common Market, CCC is hereby invoking Article 33 (2) of the COMESA Competition Regulations to issue a compulsory product recall notice to CCSA.

The specific batches of Appletiser can be identified by looking at the Best Before date which is stamped at the bottom or top of the products and have the following date codes as shown in the table below.

Volume and type of Packaging	Date Code
1250ml PET	BB 07NOV21
750 Non-Returnable Glass	BB 30MAY22
275ml Non-Returnable Glass	BB 10JUN22
330ml CAN	BB 18MAY22
330ml CAN	BB 19MAY22
330ml CAN	BB 23MAY22

In view of the foregoing, the CCPC is urging all Zambian consumers and traders to exercise caution by ensuring that they look out for the affected batches of Appletiser drinks for the good of their health and safety.

Further, we would like to advise all consumers who may have already purchased the affected products to report to any of our provincial offices across the country or call on the toll-free number 5678.

Namukolo M. Kasumpa

Senior Public Relations Officer