SINGAPORE: A Facebook user wrote that the orange juice they bought from a vending machine tasted “a bit off,” leading them to look at the oranges in the machine.
To their surprise, the oranges did not appear as fresh as they would have wanted, with some already rotten.
The netizen, who goes by SilencerOne on Facebook, posted about their experience on the popular COMPLAINT SINGAPORE page on Saturday (July 13). They added pictures of the oranges they claimed to have seen in the machine.
SilencerOne began their post by writing that they buy orange juice regularly from IJOOZ dispensers.
“Late last night, I bought one at Punggol and thought it tasted a bit off. Upon closer inspection, I noticed several rotten oranges inside the machines.
In fact, there was one (which I couldn’t photographed) that had a white mouldy skin! Needless to say, I threw away my cup of juice.”
The netizen went on to ask how often the vending machine machines are inspected and cleaned and whose responsibility it is to take care of them. They added, “I am now having doubts about getting my orange juice from these machines again.”
The company, which started in Singapore and to whom The Independent Singapore has contacted for comments or updates, claims to have sold 70 million cups of fresh juice in 32 countries.
Its main selling point is that people can have “100 per cent natural and fresh” juice 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with 99.99 per cent reliability.
According to its website, four-fifths of the people in Singapore have tried orange juice from IJOOZ, and 50 per cent drink IJOOZ multiple times. The oranges used in its machines are imported from Australia and the United States.
Many have appreciated IJOOZ dispensers because the fruit is squeezed right in front of those using the vending machine, and the juice is reportedly sweet.
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Netizens commenting on the post said they’ve never seen machines being cleaned, although this could mean that cleaning is done during off-peak hours when no one is around.
Others advised the post author to check the machine before buying juice the next time, with some saying that due to the heat in Singapore, it should not be surprising when fruit goes bad quickly.
Some pointed out that IJOOZ machines usually have numbers posted where people can call when issues arise and advised the post author to do so when something is “off.” /TISG
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