Milk tea brand pulled from shelves in China after alarm its packaging strongly resembles laundry detergent bottles
- Consumers were concerned children would be confused by the similar packaging and may drink detergent by mistake
- The local market supervision authority has said it is investigating
A brand of milk tea has been pulled from the shelves in China due to the striking resemblance of its packaging to laundry detergent bottles, after alarmed consumers feared it could mislead children into drinking cleaning liquid.
The Thai-style milk tea, produced by Nanyeli Thai Food Restaurant in Nanjing, Jiangsu province, eastern China, is packaged with Thai characters printed on the label in bottles which look exactly like those used by common laundry liquids and other cleaning products, with a similar handle and lid, new site Jimu News reported.
The milk tea was being sold in 500ml bottles in the restaurant chain’s three outlets across the city.
The unusual bottle design caused heated online discussions on Weibo over the weekend, with internet users debating the resemblance to laundry detergent.
“I’ve seen this kind of pack for the first time. Very funny,” wrote one person.
But many others said the packaging choice was too similar and posed dangers for young children.
“Its design is novel. However, I am afraid some parents don’t tell their kids about the potential danger from this type of packaging similarity. After the kids drink the milk tea once, they may drink dishwashing liquid at home thinking it is also milk tea,” a second person commented.