Winery investigated for allegedly selling diluted red wine
Central News Agency
2014-12-18 09:36 PM
Taipei, Dec. 18 (CNA) A winery in Yangmei, Taoyuan County was under investigation on Thursday for allegedly selling Australian red wine diluted with a locally-made version to distributors and supermarkets, reaping illegal profits.
The Taoyuan District Prosecutors Office said that Universal Distiller Product Co. had sold various kinds of red wine, labeled as imports, to distributors, including hypermarket and convenience store chains. Prosecutors said at least some of the wine were not entirely imported brands and had been mixed with cheaper local wine.
The prosecutors and police conducted a raid at the company in Yangmei recently and took samples of its red wine as evidence. The winery had sold more than 100,000 bottles of the diluted red wine over the past year and reaped almost NT$10 million (US$318,500) in profits, according to prosecutors.
A company staff member said he's not aware of the investigation. Amid a recent string of food safety scandals in Taiwan, officials are under pressure from the public to root out unscrupulous businesses that cheat consumers by selling substandard or falsely advertised products.
(By Chiu Chun-chin and Kuo Chung-han)
