Thailand: Juice sales plunge amid Shine Muscat grape fears

NAKHON RATCHASIMA - Grape and fruit juice vendors are reporting plunging sales amid consumer concerns over the contamination found in imported Shine Muscat grapes. At Therdthai market in Muang district on Tuesday, fruit juice vendor Chananrat Wisetrat, 39, said she frequently bought fruit there to make the fresh juice she sold. Grape juice was normally a popular choice of her customers. “However, since the reports of chemical contamination in Shine Muscat grapes, customers now rarely order grape juice,” she said. Ms Chananrat said she now bought only a small amount of Shine Muscat grapes, for those customers who continued to drink grape juice. The Thai Pesticides Alert Network and the Foundation for Consumers announced on Oct 24 that green Shine Muscat grapes imported from China were found to be heavily contaminated with dangerous chemicals including chlorpyrifos, an organophosphate insecticide banned for use in Thailand. Ms Chananrat said although some academics said the level of ...