Advertising for expired winter moon cakes can still continue to be used
On the afternoon of October 8, according to the reporter's records, many places in Hanoi have started selling moon cakes with billboards advertising "great discount", "sale 30%", "only 10, 15, 20... thousand dong/piece".
On Me Tri Street, Tu Liem Ward, 2 large moon cake stalls with cheap advertising signs suddenly attracted some customers to buy cakes.
Having just paid 3 cakes considered "hot hits" this year's "hot" season with the likes of Lava eggs with green beans, Lava eggs with cheese and Lava melted chocolate of Kinh Do brand for 150 thousand dong, Mr. Toan (character's name has been changed) said that these are 3 people his family really loves and buy at this time are half as cheap as before the full moon of August.
"My wife really loves these flavors, so I buy them after the full moon at discount stalls. The seller said that before the full moon, each cake costs 100,000 VND," Mr. Toan shared.
enthusiastically advertising cakes to PV (when introducing themselves as buyers) and many other customers, staff at the discount cake stall on Me Tri Street said that with cakes named Lava, the expiration date is until October 29, customers should eat them early for 2 weeks. If you want to leave it for longer, you can put it in the stone partition, when used, bring it to the microwave to re-heat.
Notably, with mini moon cakes, although they also expire at the end of October, resental customers can store them in a stone part with a long shelf life every year.
"This mini cake is very popular in my family, some customers bought 50 cakes and brought them home, then left the stone closet to eat. The brothers and sisters keep bringing this cake back to the winter so that it can still be eaten every year. My family's closet still has cakes left from last year," advertised a moon cake seller on Me Tri Street.
Mid-Autumn Festival cakes are short-term, high prices are deserted
Recorded on Le Quang Dao Street, many discount cake stalls of big brands are deserted. In contrast to the advertising board of only 10 - 35 thousand VND/cake, at the counter, the price of moon cakes is still quite high at 35 - 55 thousand for each cake of Madam Huong, Hanoi, Kinh Do brands and cakes produced by famous hotels.
Sharing with PV, an employee of a discounted bakery said that currently, the shelf life of the cakes being sold is only about 5 days. The staff themselves also feel that the price of banh da is still quite high compared to the main crop, but that is the brand's regulation.
"I only sold 15 cakes from the beginning of the afternoon until now, quite a bit less than in previous years. In general, the current price is quite high in my opinion, but I don't understand why the owner keeps it like that. Many customers ask for the price and leave, and are quite shy about selling," said an employee of a moon cake shop with a discount.
According to records, due to the harsh weather, many baked cakes left directly under the sun have stagnant steam inside and are not as eye-catching as at first. Letting the sun shine directly on the " date" cakes is quite common at this stall.
At some moon cake points, some major moon cake brands have quickly removed their tents and stopped selling early.
"From after the Mid-Autumn Festival until now, I have received many people renting to dismantle the booth. Although there are still many cakes, they stop selling, it is very strange" - the person who assembled the stall said.
The health sector recommends that consumers be careful when choosing moon cakes, paying special attention to factors such as brand, packaging, shape, color and shelf life to ensure health safety.
Only use the product when the packaging is intact, with clear manufacturer's name and address, ingredients, instructions for use - preservation, same production date and expiration date.
In terms of quality, moon cakes that meet the requirements must have a uniform shape, not cracked, broken, crushed or deformed. Consumers should absolutely not eat cakes with signs of bad smell, strange color or mold after opening the packaging.
