Tet cakes, candies, and jams flow water, scattered on the ground waiting to be sold on the market
In the role of someone who needs to buy large quantities of Tet jam for gifts and redistribution, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters proactively contacted many wholesale distributors in Hanoi to record the reality behind the Tet jam market in the days leading up to the Lunar New Year.
To approach a wholesale merchant specializing in Tet jam in Xuan Phuong ward, reporters had to spend many days contacting, persuading and building trust. The woman claiming to be the warehouse owner on Xuan Phuong street from the beginning appeared quite hesitant. Only when reporters affirmed that they would take goods in large quantities, did the woman agree to go to the place to choose goods. The meeting point is No. 22, alley 422 Xuan Phuong street. From the outside, this warehouse area has absolutely no signs, no billboards, the gate is always closed, there is no sign that this is a place to trade and gather Tet food.
This address is a system of temporary houses with corrugated iron roofs, built close together, divided into many separate warehouses. Deep inside, workers continuously load and unload, pack goods and transport them to many places to serve the Tet market in time. The warehouse is full of jams, ô mai, sunflower seeds, sweet pancakes... which are packaged carelessly, stacked on a dirty floor and old shelves.
Worryingly, many types of wet jam such as star fruit jam, apricot jam, plum jam - which are inherently high in moisture and easily contaminated with bacteria - are poured directly into buckets and plastic basins, with loosely wrapped mouths, surrounded by flies and maggots.
In the middle of the messy warehouse, the woman continuously offered: "500g box of lục lăng jam wholesale price 60,000 VND, oval box 48,000 VND. Plums are out of stock, if you take them immediately, you have to accept a price of 85,000 VND/kg".
When reporters asked about the expiration date and origin of the product, the seller frankly said that most jams at the warehouse must "run the date" before reaching consumers. The expiration date printed on the packaging is entirely decided by the seller, depending on the time of shipment.
Notably, when raising the issue of issuing VAT invoices for the shipment planned to be purchased, the woman did not hesitate to reveal: "Not every code can issue an invoice, only a small number.
Reporters continued to visit Xuan Dinh confectionery village, which is considered the "capital" of traditional Tet jam production in Hanoi. These days, the trading atmosphere here is bustling, people coming in and out bustlingly.
At a well-known establishment named "Minh Y Tet Jam" in alley 42 Xuan Dinh street, reporters were directly received by a young woman named Thu (name of the character has been changed), born in 1996. According to Thu, at the time near Tet, the number of orders from general warehouses and distribution points poured in was very large.
Regarding legal documents, Thu affirmed that the facility has full input and output documents because at the end of the year, functional forces inspect very strictly. However, when reporters requested to visit the production area, this person refused on the grounds that this is a "sensitive" time, easily inspected and handled.
Sudden inspection of many establishments in the area
According to Mr. Vu Cao Cuong - Deputy Director of Hanoi Department of Health, the Capital's health sector focuses on risk prevention, food safety supervision and poisoning prevention and control before, during and after the Binh Ngo Lunar New Year as well as the occasion of the 2026 Spring Festival.
From the end of December 2025 to now, inter-sectoral inspection teams led by the Department of Health and specialized inspection teams of the department have closely coordinated with the City Police and related departments and branches to organize surprise inspections of many establishments in the area.
The viewpoint of the city and the health sector is very clear, which is not to accept coping thinking in the field of food safety. Management will continue to be tightened in the direction of strengthening post-inspection, surprise inspections, without prior notice; strictly handling violations and making them public immediately; including transferring to investigating agencies for cases with sufficient elements to constitute crimes; and at the same time assigning specific responsibilities to local authorities in food safety management in the area. Sanctions are not only aimed at punishing, but also at forcing establishments to change their thinking, shifting from coping to substantive compliance, for the health of the community and for the sustainable development of food production, processing and business establishments themselves" - Mr. Cuong emphasized.
In addition to the management activities of functional agencies, Mr. Vu Cao Cuong also issued recommendations for food production, processing, and business establishments and consumers.
