Local vendors caught illegally forging labels on domestic kiwis to make them appear as import products will face penalties in, the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce said Sunday, after reports of such incidents originating in Putuo district surfaced over the weekend.

Zhang Yusong, a press officer for the Shanghai Administration for Industry and Commerce, however, declined to say what kind of punishment vendors would face.

"The vendors want customers to think they are purchasing pricey imports from New Zealand," he told the Global Times Sunday. "We're looking into the matter."

Zhang added that local residents who come across suspected "kiwi fakes" are encouraged to report to the consumer complaint hot line at 12315. He said that inspectors will be sent to investigate.

Faking New Zealand kiwis can earn vendors exponentially more as two sheets of knockoff Zespri labels cost only 1 yuan ($0.15); a single label allows a box of domestic kiwis to be marked up from 70 yuan to 110 yuan, according to Shan Cailin, a fruit vendor on Dagu Road.

"It's no longer a secret that fruit vendors at wholesale markets mark domestic kiwis as those of Zespri's from New Zealand," she told the Global Times Sunday. "It's hard for customers to tell fake labels from authentic ones."
Zespri, too, it seems, is unsure of how to identify its own kiwis when it comes to judging them by the labels.

"We have two labels: one for our green kiwis, and one for our gold ones," Chen Yuanpei, a sales manager for Zespri, told local media Sunday. "But there are too many knockoffs on the market, and I don't even know how to tell the labels apart."

Chen suggested that customers check the fruits before making a purchase.

"Our kiwis have a trim outer layer of fuzz, and the peel is glossy, without spots," said Chen. "When you hold our kiwi, you should be able to feel the cushiony weight of it."