Vietnam has been implementing food safety measures nationwide in conjunction with the country’s Food Safety Action Month from mid-April to mid-March.
Multiple spot checks have unfortunately revealed the production of adulterated food items that were being sent to and used in collective kitchens throughout the country, a disturbing discovery due to the large number of consumers served by these establishments.
Collective kitchens are a sort of canteen that is widely found in industrial parks, factories, schools, government offices and more, and are extremely common in Vietnam due to the industrial nature of its economy.
One of the most severely products found to be adulterated has been monosodium glutamate (MSG) from local MSG manufacturer Famimoto Vietnam, which markets itself as ‘Vietnam’s leading MSG brand, Japanese technology’.
“The Vietnam Food Administration (VFA) recently received information about the discovery of fake MSG products in Phu Tho province, which were manufactured by Famimoto Vietnam,” VFA Deputy Director Do Huu Tuan said in a formal statement.
“VFA is working with local authorities to review the company’s MSG self-declaration records, recall all fake MSG products on the market and coordinate with police efforts.
“In the meantime, the official recommendation is for all consumers, food manufacturers and collective kitchen organisations to not use any Famimoto Vietnam fake MSG products in their consumption, food production or other business use.”
VFA documentation showed that the investigators had found over 40 tons of affected MSG in their initial spot check, and that Famimoto Vietnam Director Nguyen Van Hung had already been detained on the suspicion of manufacturing and trading these counterfeit products.
“Adulterated food is an immediate threat and also could potentially leave long-term health consequences, such as chronic diseases such as cancer, or organ failure,” he added.
“Food safety in collective kitchens is even more important as it affects the health of our national production workforce as well as students who are our future workforce, and impacts here could lead to overloads on the public health system as well as damage the balance of Vietnam’s socioeconomy.
“Additional initiatives are underway for Food Safety Action Month to ensure food safety locally, and for food production and trading establishments [there will be added focus on] food safety certifications, health certifications, employee health awareness, spot checks and product sample testing.”
Not just MSG
The agency has its work cut out for it as the initial Phu Tho province raid revealed not just adulterated MSG but also over 71,000 litres of adulterated cooking oil, 22 tons of seasoning powder, nine tons of broth powder and dozens of tons of frozen foods such as sausages, chicken, meatballs and more.
“The consumption and distribution routes of these foods are wide and varying,” said VFA via separate documentation.
“This includes both online routes such as social media as well as offline routes in traditional markets and supermarkets, by which they reach the public and are particularly attractive to consumers and businesses who want to take advantage of cheap prices.”
It will also be difficult to identify these fake items by brand alone as most companies involved with adulteration will use a variety of brand names.
According to SGGP, testimony from arrested Famimoto Vietnam Director Nguyen revealed that the adulterated MSG had been purchased from a local producer and repackaged not only Famimoto MSG, but also as ‘Boat Brand MSG – originating from Singapore’.
The firm also adulterated cooking oil and repackaged this as both Fami Gold Vegetable Oil and ‘Premium Boat Brand Cooking Oil – Singapore Origin’.
