Recently, Boss Wang, who runs a supermarket in Longfeng District's Shidi Fuyuan, encountered a troubling issue. He reported to a journalist that a few days ago he suffered a big loss when someone posing as a Red Bull salesperson sold him more than a dozen cases of 'problematic Red Bull'. To verify the situation, on the afternoon of August 28, the journalist visited Mr. Wang's supermarket to conduct an interview. Supermarket owner discovers altered dates on bottom of 'Red Bull' cans Salesperson promotes 'problematic Red Bull' According to Mr. Wang's recollection, on the morning of August 21, a man claiming to be a Red Bull salesperson walked into his supermarket and asked if he wanted to stock beverages. Since Red Bull sells well this season, Mr. Wang inquired, and the other party said the price was 113 yuan per case. Then the man took out two cans from his bag for Mr. Wang to inspect. Mr. Wang checked them and found they looked the same as the Red Bull he had previously stocked. "I've been selling Red Bull for years, and I can tell genuine from fake at a glance. After seeing it was genuine, I agreed to keep 5 cases," Mr. Wang said. But the salesperson further introduced that the company was running a promotion, and buying more would get a better price. After the man's persistent persuasion, Mr. Wang purchased 15 cases of Red Bull from him, and the other party threw in one extra case as a bonus. Mr. Wang paid 1,695 yuan, and two men unloaded the Red Bull from a van and then hurriedly left. After the men left, Mr. Wang and his family moved the beverages inside. But a meticulous family member noticed that the bottom of the cases was wet. Upon opening the cases, they found that the seals and bottoms of the cans were different from the genuine products on the store shelves, and they discovered the beverages had problems. The scanned date on the beverages Mr. Wang purchased did not match the spray code 'Problematic Red Bull' full of flaws Subsequently, Mr. Wang quickly called the phone number left by the salesperson, saying that the Red Bull was very cheap and he wanted to keep a few more cases. The other party said to wait and that he would call back later, but then the phone was turned off. Mr. Wang told the Evening News reporter that he concluded this batch was 'problematic Red Bull' based on the following suspicions. "After opening the cases, I found that the production dates on these Red Bull cans had been altered. These beverages clearly have quality issues. The production date on genuine Red Bull is very clear, and scanning the QR code on the bottom can show the production time. The dates scanned from these problematic beverages do not match the dates printed on the bottom, and the re-sprayed dates show signs of alteration," Mr. Wang said. Secondly, Mr. Wang also stated that the weight of these 'problematic Red Bull' cans was insufficient, whereas every genuine can has a consistent weight. What shocked Mr. Wang most was that when he opened one can of 'problematic Red Bull' and tasted it, he found the flavor was different from genuine Red Bull. When he poured the opened Red Bull into a cup, there were many flocculent substances inside. "These signs all indicate that this batch is not genuine Red Bull. Fortunately, I discovered it in time and haven't put it on the shelves yet. It's okay if I'm cheated, but if this beverage is sold to customers and makes them sick, that would harm them," Mr. Wang said angrily. Supermarket owner opens a can of problematic Red Bull to show the journalist the flocculent substances Boss hopes the 'salesperson' will come forward During the interview, the journalist took out the 'problematic Red Bull' that Mr. Wang mentioned, opened a can, and poured it into a cup, indeed seeing many flocculent substances. Among the 16 cases Mr. Wang purchased, random opening of cases and cans revealed the same issue in every case. Subsequently, the journalist used a mobile phone to scan the QR code on the bottom of a genuine Red Bull can, and found that the date scanned from the genuine product exactly matched the production date sprayed on the bottom. However, the production date scanned from the 'problematic Red Bull' purchased by Mr. Wang indeed did not match the date sprayed on the can bottom. The journalist noticed that the problematic Red Bull looked identical in appearance to the genuine Red Bull on Mr. Wang's shelves, and without careful inspection, the problems were completely unnoticeable. On that day, the journalist called the phone number of the salesperson who had promoted the beverages to Mr. Wang, but the phone was still off. Mr. Wang hopes these two salespeople can give him a reasonable explanation. Currently, Mr. Wang has called the police. As of the time of reporting, the journalist has reported the issues with the beverages purchased by Mr. Wang to the manufacturer's staff. Regarding the Red Bull beverage issue. The spray code on the bottom of the 'problematic Red Bull' shows signs of alteration (left is 'problematic Red Bull') Impersonating salespeople to promote Red Bull is not an isolated case; it has happened before.

Impersonating staff to promote 'Red Bull' fraud

▲ Real or fake, hard to tell apart How to distinguish genuine Red Bull?

  1. Check the bottom date and steel stamp Genuine Red Bull beverages have production dates applied with needle-type laser coding, which is clear and wear-resistant. They follow formats like 20100910 22:43 and 20120309 286U. The steel stamp uses the style of 'Red Bull REDBULL', and the stamp is only visible when viewed at a certain angle of light. Fake Red Bull beverages have production dates in various formats, with blurred and worn lettering, and rough steel stamps that are visible from any direction. 2. Check the middle seam Genuine Red Bull beverages have a tight middle seam that does not rust, while fake Red Bull has a rough seam that is prone to rust, especially after being stored in the refrigerator for a period. As shown below, the genuine Red Bull on the left does not rust, while the fake Red Bull on the right has rusted.
  2. Check the lid Genuine Red Bull uses very fine lid-making technology with high quality requirements. The printing and engraving have a very obvious layered effect. Achieving this effect requires high production costs, and no other company has successfully imitated it so far. To distinguish genuine from fake, check the font, trademark, steel stamp, and material. 4. Check the pull tab After pulling the tab, the font on the pull tab of the genuine Red Bull on the left is clearly printed, while the font on the pull tab of the fake Red Bull on the right is blurred. 5. Check the color and taste of the beverage The genuine Red Bull on the left has a bright golden color, clear and transparent, with a rich creamy aroma and a soft sweet-and-sour taste. The fake Red Bull on the right has a dull color, a flat creamy aroma, and an unpleasant sweet-and-sour taste. Through the above five aspects of identification, you can basically distinguish genuine from fake Red Bull beverages. Of course, there are other methods, but these five aspects are relatively subtle and difficult to imitate. Final tips: (1) Genuine Red Bull has a strong taurine taste when drunk, while fake is like brown sugar water. (2) If you look at the bottom at a 45-degree angle and see 'red bull', it is genuine. (3) If you discover or accidentally buy fake Red Bull, you can promptly complain to the local consumer protection committee or directly call 12315 to report and appeal to the complaint center. -END-