The hidden dangers of Packet Juice – Capri-Sonne

I received a disturbing email a few days ago and just had to share it.

To summarize, a child began vomiting and complaining of a stomach ache and was lucky enough to have vigilant minders and parents who quickly linked it to the Capri Sonne she had been drinking. There was biological matter (most likely mold) in it – black , white and thoroughly disgusting. I need to point out that the parents had done their due diligence by buying a batch that had not expired. In fact, the expiration date was set for June 2014.

I shudder to think of what the outcome would have been if this child had drank more of the juice. She did not even finish an ~6oz pack when she started vomiting.

This is what the juice looked like. Naturally, this is not anything a parent would feed a child if (s)he had seen it.

Tainted by Biological Matter

There are lessons we can all take away from here. 

  • Give your children juice you prepare yourself. It is healthier and you can whiz up something quickly if you have the right equipment. As a working mum, I know that packet juices are easier but easier is not always really easier, if you know what I mean.
  • If you must drink packet juice or eat anything out of a can, pour it out so that you can see what you are drinking/eating.
  • Move away from processed foods as much as you can. It is still possible to prepare most things from scratch, quickly. The time you would have saved not doing so may not be equated to time spent in hospital due to the associated illnesses that can occur – obesity, hypertension, diabetes. We all know that processed foods have been linked to these and more.
  • Spread this information and get your child’s schools involved too.

To see the original email (which was written by the child’s mother), please keep reading. This story was confirmed to me by someone that knows the child’s mother personally so it is authentic. There are also more pictures if you read more.

 

“Two Sundays ago, my second child was ill and taken to the hospital for treatment, she stayed home during the week afterwards to properly recover. Last Friday, she asked for one of the packet juice Capri Sonne we had at home purchased from a Major supermarket (please note that this shop has huge customer base so no risk of stock having overstayed). On taking the juice, she started to complain of tummy ache and almost immediately started to vomit without finishing the drink. My nanny took the packet away from her and noticed some black stuff on the straw and proceeded to cut open the packet. Her observation was that the juice appeared whitish with an off look from what the juice should normally look like.

We immediately kept the remaining packets left in the carton away and as soon as I got home from work yesterday, proceeded to cut open all the rest left in the carton, the attached pictures tell the rest of the story. Bottom line for me is are the following:

  • with immediate effect no more packet juice for my kids, water and fruits to school is just fine along with their lunch.
  • Checking expiry date is no longer a guarantee of safe food any longer, the carton and each individual packs had June 2014 as the expiry date

 Please let us pay more attention to what our kids eat and drink either imported or made in Nigeria, let us send messages to their school either via text message to their class teachers or via their home work diaries to instruct what and what not should be given to our kids in school because this particular drink became a favourite for my kids due to party pack from school etc, because if we don’t things that we don’t normally give to our kids may be shared at school for them to consume.

My daughter is fine now, the vomiting stopped Friday night and we all went back to the hospital for further review the following Saturday. It could have been worse but for God!!!

M. Ajayi”

The rest of the bad Capri-Sonne
Expiration date. Nafdac number. The usual markers of a “safe” product. If you have this batch number, throw it out!!
More information on the carton
Biological Matter
Pack after pack held the same biological matter
Poured into a cup.

 If you need tips for giving your child a healthy school lunch, click here

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