Fruit store caught with dyed oranges

A fruit store in Yangpu district was caught selling dyed oranges at a higher price than what neighboring vendors were asking, local media reported Tuesday.

Although illegally dying fruit is not unheard of in Shanghai, the case shows the potential for unwary consumers to get cheated when buying oranges, which just came into season.

Before industry and commerce officials visited the store Monday, it had been selling the dyed oranges for 11 yuan ($1.75) per kilogram, according to an official surnamed Xu from the Yangpu district's industry and commerce bureau.

On Tuesday, a neighboring fruit vendor was selling the same kind of oranges, which were not dyed, for 7.6 yuan per kilogram.

By selling the oranges at a higher price, the store violated China's Consumer Rights Protection Law, said Ruan Zanlin, a professor from the College of Law at East China University of Science and Technology.

"It is considered unfair competition when a store sells the same variety of a product at an inflated price," Ruan told the Global Times. "At the same time, selling dyed oranges without informing customers why they cost more can constitute fraud."

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