'Israeli' Fruit at Heart of Iranian Row Deemed Chinese Counterfeits

[AHeneen]

In case you missed the story...


Israeli oranges 'on sale in Iran'
BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8017823.stm)

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45700000/jpg/_45700288_090424150453_op-orange-mehr-226-1.jpg
Fears that an Iranian ban on imports from its arch foe Israel was flouted by the sale of Jaffa oranges have sparked outrage in Tehran and has led to an official inquiry, reports say.
City authorities asked the judiciary to take action after the Israeli fruit was allegedly imported in boxes marked as Chinese, local media report.
The fruit was imported via Dubai and put on sale at markets and in shops in and around Tehran, one report says.
A news agency showed pictures of boxes containing fruit bearing a Jaffa label.
In its report on the alleged distribution of the oranges, the Ilna news agency said fruit still in storage would be destroyed.
Photos released by the Mehr news agency show oranges clearly marked "Jaffa Sweetie Israel PO".
An Iranian customs official later told a third news agency, Isna, he found the reports impossible to believe but added that if any Israeli oranges had been imported, it could only have happened through unofficial channels.
"In addition to the inspections, importers are informed about the laws and they will never take such risks for importing just a few tonnes of goods," said Mohammad Reza Naderi, deputy head of Iranian Customs.
"Even if it is said that the oranges were imported to the country from Israel, the import was not done through official channels."
The Jaffa orange, named after an Israeli city, is known for its sweetness, for having few seeds and being easy to peel.

And now today...

'Israeli oranges' faked in China
BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/8019407.stm)
A twist has emerged in the story of Israeli citrus fruit reportedly sold in Iran in defiance of a ban on commercial dealings between the two enemy states.
It has now been revealed the fruit, a type of orange-grapefruit hybrid marketed as Jaffa Sweetie, were not Israeli in the first place.
The Sweeties were brought to Iran from China, where faking the origin of goods is a common practice.
The discovery of apparent Israeli origin caused a stir in Iran.
Outrage followed, distribution centres stocking the fruit were sealed and accusations were traded.
Such is the infamy of dealing with Israel that an Iranian official went so far as to accuse the opposition of a "citrus plot".
However, Tal Amit, the general manager of Israel's Citrus Marketing Board, told the BBC the fruit had not originated in his country.

Prestigious fruit

"First of all, it's a bit annoying that somebody is using our brand name and registered trademark without our permission," he said.
"Apart from this, I would like very much the Iranian people to eat Israeli fruit straight from the origin and not via China.
"But the politics is not allowing us to do any commercial relations with Tehran at the moment while back 30 to 40 years ago, Tehran was a superb market for our fruit."
The genuine Israeli Sweetie is primarily exported to the Far East's richest markets, Japan and South Korea.
That could explain the prestige of the fruit in the eyes of Chinese exporters and the temptation to counterfeit it.
[snip]

[noonwitch]

I'd rather eat the Israeli-raised orange than a chinese one. I suspect that the chinese have found a way to get lead into oranges, by now.

[megimoo]

I'd rather eat the Israeli-raised orange than a chinese one. I suspect that the chinese have found a way to get lead into oranges, by now.
Now you are getting truly paranoid.
Most of the dirty contaminated fresh fruit foods from China are due to poor sanitary conditions .The south of China is tropical and they do grow excellent fresh fruit from oranges to bananas .

The Chinese fruit growers are largely unregulated and have been known to counterfeit their brand names to get the best prices.Things like contaminated fresh fish,crab and shrimp are from Northern China and are due to the polluted ocean waters along the coast .

Others raise so called fresh water fish in contaminated ponds .I agree never eat the Chinese sea foods especially clams,shrimp and any other bottom dwellers.I guess the Chinese fruit growers need to check out their Mideast customers politics a triffle closer.

[FlaGator]

I guess those were Mandarin Oranges.

[megimoo]

I guess those were Mandarin Oranges.

"So the name on the oranges was the specie's of Orange and not the country of origin !"

orange
any of several species of small trees or shrubs of the genus Citrus of the family Rutaceae and their nearly round fruits, which have leathery and oily rinds and edible, juicy inner flesh. The species of orange most important commercially are the China orange, also called the sweet, or common, orange; the mandarin orange, some varieties of which are called tangerines; and the sour, or Seville, orange, which is less extensively grown.

Other varieties include the Jaffa, from Israel; the Maltese, or blood, orange; and the navel, which is usually seedless. The tree of the sweet orange often reaches 6 m (20 feet) and sometimes 10 m. The broad, glossy, evergreen leaves are medium-sized and ovate; the petioles (leafstalks) have narrow wings. Its flowers are very fragrant.

The usual shape of the sweet-orange fruit is round and the colour of its pulp orange, but there are variations. The mandarin, for example, is distinctly flattened, and the blood orange has red pulp. The pulp of the sweet orange is agreeably acidulous and sweet, the peel comparatively smooth, and the oil glands convex.