Vietnam Hanoi Uncovers 117 Food Safety Violation Cases on Tet Holiday

Market regulators in Vietnam’s capital city of Hanoi found 117 cases violating the regulations on food hygiene and safety on the occasion of Lunar New Year or Tet Holiday. They imposed a total fine of more than VND329 million ($15,600) on violators and destroyed low-quality goods worth nearly VND1.6 billion which included over seven tons of chickens; 20 tons of unquarantined legs, tails and viscera of cattle with dubious origin. The market management forces also seized 960 bottles of alcohol and 2,184 bottles of wine failing to meet the quality standard. Food safety is considered as an unsolved problem in Vietnam, especially during Tet holiday, experts said, warning that more and more samples of meat, vegetables and seafood have been found failing to meet hygiene and quality standards recently, threatening local people’s health. The country reported 142 food poisoning cases in 2011, affecting 4,533 people with 25 deaths, the Health Ministry said. (Dai Bieu Nhan Dan – People’s Deputies Feb 1 p2)