No maggots in oranges

Jan 6, 2009
By JUDITH TAN (Straits Times)

AN E-MAIL warning Singaporeans that mandarin oranges from China should be avoided as they contain maggots is creating a stir among netizens.

But a Straits Times check showed that it stretches the truth.

According to the Agri-Food & Veterinary Authority (AVA), oranges from only one plantation in China are affected by an outbreak of fruit fly maggots - and Singapore does not import oranges from there.

The AVA said the problem was isolated to a plantation in Wangcang county in Sichuan province.

Singapore's sources of Chinese mandarin oranges are Guangdong, Fujian and Shantou provinces.

The viral e-mail has been making the rounds of inboxes in Singapore over the past week. Pictures of maggots in the oranges were tacked along with the e-mail, which warned that although the infected oranges looked normal, they had maggots inside.

'These worms are very similar in texture to the pulp and, therefore, can be observed only if you look at them carefully. A long-sighted person may not notice them,' it said.