12 Coffee Factories Investigated in Myanmar

Twelve separate coffee factories in Myanmar are to be investigated by the national Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as rumours of malpractice and poor standards appear to be blighting the domestic coffee industry.

According to the website Irrawaddy, a joint committee made up of a number of political and trade entities – including the FDA, a consumer protection group, unions and regional development committees – surprised eleven different companies last week with an unannounced visit and inspection.

“Rumour has it that coffee factories were mixing powder from coconut shells and tamarind seeds into their instant coffee mix.

“Our teams collected a trace of raw ingredients from the factories and had them sent to a laboratory to see if they contain any improper substances,” said Zin Zin Nwe, an FDA director based in the city of Yangon.

The factories that were searched and are being investigated contain those linked to some of the biggest coffee brands in the country, such as Super Roast, Premier Roast, Sunday Roast, Gold Roast and Mikko.

This recent round of checks was the third such spot-investigation by the committee, and it seems that the FDA is pushing forward to continue this initiative.

However, despite seeing some positive results, many consumer groups have been critical of the FDA for not doing more.