A day after a Taiwan milk-tea beverage was recalled by Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority of Singapore (AVA), Hong Kong authorities have followed suit in removing the drink from 7-Eleven convenience store shelves.
According to South China Morning Post (SCMP), a spokesperson for Dairy Farm International, which operates more than 900 7-Eleven stores in Hong Kong, said the recall happened on Tuesday (Aug 23) and authorities are awaiting test results.
AVA announced in a statement yesterday that the Chun Cui He beverage was recalled due to an unapproved food additive, L-theanine, which is not on the list of permitted food additives in Singapore.
The agency also said that it worked with the importer of the milk tea to recall the product.
Dairy Farm International’s spokesperson told SCMP that the company is following up on the case with the Hong Kong Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
A staff member at a 7-Eleven outlet in Wan Chai said she was told to remove the affected milk tea beverage from shelves on Tuesday.
“We didn’t receive any memos about the latte and green tea. We were only told that one product was affected,” she said.
In Singapore, only the milk tea has been recalled.
The beverage made its debut in mid-July at 7-Eleven stores here and quickly became popular among Singaporeans. Each bottle costs $2.80 and only two flavours – milk tea and latte – are available.
stephluo@sph.com.sg
