‘Rotten’ orange seen in Q vending machine at Civil Service Club

SINGAPORE: A man took to social media after noticing a mouldy orange inside a juice vending machine at the Civil Service Club on Tessensohn Road.

“Bought orange juice from Q Juice vending machine at civil service club @ Tessensohn. Orange juice not cold but hot. Oranges rotten,” wrote Mr Ken Yong on the COMPLAINT SINGAPORE Facebook page on Monday (Jul 17).

He posted a number of photos, including one of the vending machine itself and two close-up ones of an orange in the machine, which appeared to be almost half covered in white mould.

There are two ways that a white substance can be seen in an orange. When there are white spots inside an orange, this is safe to eat. It just means that the orange may have suffered from frostbite.

However, if an orange has white spots on the outside of its skin, this is unsafe for consumption. Called “sour rot,” the white mould is common with citrus fruits such as oranges, and even if the inside of the orange looks and smells unaffected, scientists say this should still not be eaten since orange skin is porous. The mould can penetrate and cause stomach problems when consumed.

The Independent Singapore has reached out to Mr Ken Yong, Q-Orange company, and the Civil Service Club at Tessensohn.

This is not the first time a netizen has complained about mouldy oranges inside a Q-Orange vending machine.

In January 2021, a netizen wrote to the crowdsourced news site Stomp to say that he had been just about to get a drink at a Q-Orange vending machine at Chinatown Point when he stopped because of the sight of a “black, rotten orange” inside it.

“I am a regular customer of Q Orange dispensers as I drink orange juice all the time and I’ve never seen a mouldy orange inside their dispensers before. I used to drink a few cups every week but now, I don’t know if I can still drink their orange juice, even though it’s convenient and cheap. Who knows how many other mouldy oranges are hidden inside the machine? Really not sure if I will buy from them again,” he told Stomp. /TISG

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