TAIPEI, Taiwan – One of the most popular bakery chains among foreign visitors to Taiwan, Vigor Kobo has been selling expired food with modified expiration date labels, its Chairman Sun Kuo-hua confirmed on Wednesday.
Sun’s wife Hsiao Shih-chin,who is in charge of the company’s sales and marketing, has been suspended and is under investigation with bail set at NT$1.5 million (S$70,043), he said.
Vigor Kobo’s products were a souvenir at the national banquet for foreign guests at the president’s inauguration ceremony in 2012.
Its signature products include pineapple cakes and other pastries.
Investigators from the Shilin District Prosecutors Office searched Vigor Kobo’s headquarters on Wednesday.
Preliminary reports indicated that employees from the bakery’s Wugu store had modified the expiration date labels on approximately 10 boxes of its products without the management’s authorisation.
Prosecutors said that some employees have admitted to wiping out the original labels with alcohol, replacing them with fake ones and putting the products back on shelves.
Sun apologised for the scandal at a press conference at the Taipei Exchange on Wednesday, vowing to “take full responsibility” and refund customers who have purchased the problematic products two to five times the original price.
Customers can claim for a refund or product exchange at any Vigor Kobo store in Taiwan with receipts. There is no deadline set for claims, Sun said.
He added that the company has been using the ISO 22000 food safety management system for years, and had created its own product insurance profiles, however “malpractice caused by poor management is sometimes unavoidable.”
Sun insisted that the scandal was just an individual act, and the company has suspended all employees allegedly involved.
Mainland Tourist Impact
Vigor Kobo is especially popular among mainland Chinese visitors.
Some travel agencies focused on mainland Chinese business announced later Wednesday that they will boycott the shop.
Chung Hsing Travel Service Chairman Lee Chi-yueh condemned the bakery chain, saying that it has not only betrayed its customers but also the travel agencies that supported it for so long.
He revealed that the bakery holds almost 50 per cent of the market share for mainland Chinese tour groups in Taiwan.
In the peak season, the chain can see a total of 4,000 to 5,000 customers per day.
The two Vigor Kobo stores at Taoyuan International Airport have suspended operations late Wednesday.
Customers who purchased products with an “EXP” label on the box can claim a refund at five times the original price. Empty boxes will be accepted.
