Health authorities in Zambia are investigating the safety of a popular Zimbabwean juice, Mazoe.
There are fears that counterfeit Mazoe products have hit the market and are not fit for consumption.
The government suspects that the imported Mazoe drink does not meet the national food safety standards.
In a circular to provincial health directors, top government health official Jabbin Mulwanda said:
“To strengthen food safety and protection of human health, the ministry is requesting that environmental health officers in provinces undertake random sampling and testing of all Mazoe drinks to ascertain compliance to standards.”
The Zambia Compulsory Standards Agency (ZCSA) also confirmed it is carrying out its routine market surveillances and testing of the drink.
The body’s spokesperson Lee Haamunji said: “The background is that a known Zambian company was locally producing Mazoe and other products in Zambia.
“We are aware that this company may no longer be in production and as such the majority of the product currently on market shelves is imported.”
He added that SCSA had yet to find a contaminated sample that had entered the country. BBC News
