Sting drink labels illegal, says Consumer Affairs Tonga

Kuo tuku mai ‘e he Consumer Affairs Tonga ha fakatokanga ki he kapa inu ‘oku ‘iloa ko e Sting Energy. ‘Oku ta’efakalao hono fakatau’ he ‘oku tohi hono leipolo’ ‘o na ‘i he lea Vietinemi’. Oku tapui ke fakatau ‘i Tonga ha koloa ‘oku ‘ikai leipolo ‘i he lea ‘Ingilisi’. Na’e ‘i ai mo ha lāunga ki mu’a atu ‘o tukuaki’i ne fakatau atu ‘a e kapa inu Sting ‘i ha fale koloa ‘i Vainī ka kuo ‘osi ‘a hono taimi ‘aonga' ‘ona.

Consumer Affairs Tonga said some labels of cans of Sting drink did not conform with government regulations because they were written in Vietnamese.

Non-English labelled goods were not allowed to sell in Tonga, it said.

“…those goods [have] to be removed from the shelves. This includes goods that [have] been re-labelled ( strawberry flavoured sting can in picture).”

“Please note that all goods imported to Tonga should be labelled in English. Non-English labelled goods are not complying with the Food Authority Legislation on Food labelling.”

A can of Sting Energy Drink Malamala claimed he purchased on June 19, 2018. Photo/Hafoka Malamala

The warning came after a customer alleged he bought an expired Sting Energy drink can from a shop in Vainī last month.

Hafoka Malamala told Kaniva news he was concerned about the health of children at a primary school close to the retailed shop from which they used to buy the soft drink.

Malamala also sent us photos of the Sting can on June 19 which showed the expiry date on the bottom of the can was written as 27 May 2018.

Malamala claimed he contacted the authority and reported the Sting can.

As Kaniva News reported in March, the Ministry of Labour and Commerce had warned some Chinese business owners in Tongatapu about the labelling of some products in Chinese that were not translated into English.

The Ministry said there were also claims that these products appeared not to have been approved for sale by Health authorities.

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