Authorities in China’s south-western province of Sichuan kept quiet about a maggot infestation in mandarin oranges for over a month, Chinese state media has revealed.
Food safety officials in the city of Guangyuan were informed in September that fruit on tens of thousands of mandarin trees were riddled maggots, but failed to inform the public, the Beijing News said. In the meantime, the fruit continued to be sold across the country.
News only leaked out last week after mobile phone text messages were sent to raise the alarm nationally, according to the report.
'Word of the problem affected sales of mandarin oranges nationwide, but Sichuan's provincial agriculture authorities did not hold a news conference on the subject for a full month afterward,' the Beijing News said.
Local Sichuan authorities are understood to have taken some measures to control the problem, but numerous Chinese media reports have said the affected fruits continued to be sold across the country for weeks afterwards.
State-run CCTV broadcast last week that mandarins in some provinces were safe to eat but failed to mention the maggot outbreak in Sichuan.
The alleged cover-up follows reports that the large-scale contamination of milk with an industrial chemical was concealed for months even as reports of children falling ill mounted.
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