|
Coke may be the world's most popular beverage but in China, it has a very tough competitor - Wang Lao Ji, a beverage made with herbal medicine. This herbal tea brand is now a leading household name in the domestic market and is especially loved by people who enjoy eating hot and spicy or deep-fried foods because the manufacturer claims the tea can help to clear excessive heat and toxins from the body, clear body dampness and relieve discomfort associated with cold, fever, sore throat, indigestion and excessive thirst. Herbal tea has long been one of Guangdong's most precious and widely used heritages.
Recently, Wao Lao Ji has been in the spotlight because a consumer complained to the media that the company illegally uses an herbal ingredient listed on the labels of its tea products. In a regular press conference held by the Ministry of Health on May 11, 2009, the deputy head of Chinese Disease Control and Prevention confirmed that some additives and ingredients used in Wao Lao Ji tea products are not on the allowed edible herbal medicine list released by the Ministry of Health, which currently details over 1800 kinds of approved additives and ingredients. The new law imposes heavy penalties on those who violate a new set of national food-safety standards, including large fines, cancellation of licenses and possible criminal charges, and attaches importance to the control of using additives in food production.
Considering Wang Lao Ji’s leading market position (no.1 market share in Chinese canned drink market and sales revenue of approximately 2 billion USD in 2008), the result will have a significant impact on the country’s tonic food industry, which is a booming industry in China with an estimated annual output value of 100 billion RMB (14.62 billion USD).
|
