PUTRAJAYA, 17 Aug 2017:
A set of standards for durians will be drawn up to ensure the authenticity and quality, said Agriculture and Agro-Based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
He said the standards – which will be drawn up with the cooperation of the Department of Standards Malaysia – are aimed at protecting consumers from being tricked by different types of fruits and prices fixed by the sellers.
At the moment, he said, sellers and suppliers were at liberty to name the fruits and state the prices – as there was no one to confirm them except for durians from the Federal Agricultural Marketing Authority (FAMA).
He said buyers complained of being tricked by sellers who fixed labels on the durians which are in high demand – such as D24 or Musang King – to reap profits.
“There is no one to confirm if the durian is Musang King, D24 or anything else. The purpose of setting up the standards is to ensure that each durian is correctly labelled.”
He said the move which would also involve the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute and would have a bar code system containing information on the durians.
– Bernama