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Food safety watchdog goes for the jugular over vampire drinks craze
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VAMPIRE fans with a taste for soft drinks that come packaged as medical blood bags have been warned that these may contain their own horror story.
Labeled “Vampire’s Drink,” they have become a novelty hit among city fans of vampire movies and TV series such as “Twilight” and “The Vampire Diaries.”
Numerous photographs have been posted online showing people drinking the red — and sometimes other colors — drink from its medical-style pack.
Packaging, complete with a mock intravenous connection acting as a straw, features “blood type” details and smallprint assurances that it’s “garlic-free” and will “strengthen your fangs” and “block out sunlight by 20 percent.”
But yesterday, officials from Shanghai Food and Drug Administration sought to put a stake through the heart of the trade by banning the fruit-based drinks.
It warned that these drinks weren’t approved by any authority, some had fake production licenses and that they could pose health risks for customers.
The city FDA said it will step up checks, after the national food watchdog raised concerns.
“These products are in violation of the nation’s regulations and mislead young people,” the city FDA said. “The authority has banned the sales and ordered online sales platforms to review the vendors.”
Anyone involved in criminal activities in the manufacture and sale of these drinks will be reported to police, it added.
Yesterday, links to the product at taobao.com, China’s biggest e-commerce platform couldn’t be opened.
Taobao said it was cooperating with the government to check vendors of vampire drinks.
Any without a Chinese label or quality safety certification will be removed, it said.
However, Shanghai Daily yesterday found vampire’s blood drinks on sale at Mr D Menu and Longranger in Tianzifang on Taikang Road.
Owners said the drinks are made of different juices, including blueberry, lemon, pomegranate and lychee.
“Young people like our ‘vampire blood’ drinks and the juice is squeezed here,” said the owner of Mr D Menu, where vampire fans can slake their thirst for 18 yuan (US$2.9) per bag.
The owner of Longranger said the packaging was a draw.
“Using the blood bags definitely boosts sales, as young customers love the idea of being a vampire,” he said.
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