By Kwon Mee-yoo
Blueberry is emerging as a new health food here and beverages made from the fruit are gaining popularity. However, some drinks, including one produced by Boryung Pharm, a leading pharmaceutical firm, advertised as made from 100 percent blueberries have turned out to be blended with other ingredients such as grape juice concentrate and sugar.
The Korea Food and Drug Administration (KFDA) referred six people to the prosecution for falsifying the contents of the blueberry beverages, Wednesday.
According to the KFDA, these beverage makers mixed grape juice concentrate, sugar and syrup with 3-45 percent of blueberry concentrate to reduce costs and sold the drink worth some 520 billion won through Internet shopping sites from February to July.
The list of drinks caught by the KFDA includes “Fermented Blueberry 100” sold by Boryung Pharm, “Blueberry concentrate juice 80 percent” and “Blueberry Gold 100” made by Samwoong Biotech, “Blueberry 100%” by Hanmi Food, “Blueberry concentrate Juice” by Hansol B&F and “Koryu Fermented Blueberry Gold” by Koryuwon.
Kim, 32, a subcontractor of Boryung Pharm, mixed 3.4 percent of blueberry concentrate with grape concentrate juice, fruit sugar and starch syrup to produce 620,000 bottles of “Fermented Blueberry 100,” worth 150 million won.
This drink was advertised as containing pure blueberries possible only by Boryung Pharm’s 50 years of technology.
“The fake blueberry drinks exposed during the crackdown were sold through websites such as G-market, 11th Street, Auction and D&Shop,” a KFDA official said. “We requested 30 sellers, both online and offline, to discontinue offering these beverages.”