Towards the end of the year, when the demand for storing, giving away, and trading Tet food increases, a series of frozen food trading groups with increasing scale also appear on social networking platforms.
From pig udders, young eggs, sausages, animal organs to buffalo meat, beef, kitchen-smoked deer... all are offered for sale bustlingly, with competitive prices and quick delivery.
In the role of someone who needs to collect frozen goods to sell online during Tet, Lao Dong Newspaper reporters contacted many accounts claiming to be wholesale suppliers. The common point easily noticeable is that most sellers do not have a fixed store, no clear address, no invoices and documents proving the origin and origin of products. The purchase and sale mainly takes place through text messages, calls, and the delivery - receipt stage completely depends on the shipper.
There are two types of young eggs, golden eggs priced at 75,000 VND/kg, red eggs at 80,000 VND/kg. Nuts are also divided into many types, more scrap goods are priced at 115,000 VND/kg, and whole VIP goods are higher. My house is in Phap Van but only accepts shipment, customers cannot come to see the goods because they are goods without origin documents," a frozen food business on Facebook frankly admitted.
When asked about quality inspection or exchange if the goods are not guaranteed, this person said that all stages are through the shipper, the seller will not appear directly. Similar feedback continued to repeat when reporters contacted many other accounts in frozen food trading groups.
Amidst a series of refusals to show the goods directly, reporters suddenly received an appointment from a frozen food business headquarters named "Yen Ngoc, a specialty of the Northwest", specializing in selling buffalo meat, kitchen-smoked deer, smoked pork sausage... in Khuong Trung street area (Hanoi).
Introducing herself as the owner of the business, the young woman (born in 1996) said that she is willing to invite customers to see the goods because "they identify this as a potential customer and take large quantities".
The location introduced is actually a boarding house located deep in a small alley on Khuong Trung street. The outer compartment next to the main door is cramped, damp, messy, and is used as a place to place two freezers filled with frozen food.
Inside the freezers are buffalo meat on the stove, pork on the stove, sausage... that has been vacuumed, packed into bags and sacks. However, most products do not have labels, no information about production date, expiration date or origin.
Sellers affirm that the products are all handmade by Sin Ho (Lai Chau) people, so they are "delicious and of good quality". According to the introduction, braised buffalo meat is being sold at 850,000 VND/kg, if taken wholesale in large quantities, it will be 800,000 VND/kg; braised pork is priced at 540,000 VND/kg.
I've been selling for several years now, goods run a lot at the end of the year. I wholesale them all over the provinces. Buying to eat, I use vacuum bags, and when I give them as gifts, I stick brand stickers to make them look reputable," this person said.
However, contrary to the advertisements, the seller also admitted that he had never issued an invoice for any shipment because this is handmade food, "made to the point of being sold out". There are also no documents proving the origin, food safety inspection according to regulations.
In fact, recently, in Hanoi, functional forces have continuously deployed many inspections and sweeps of dirty food and food of unknown origin. Many batches of frozen goods without valid invoices and documents have been detected, seized and destroyed, especially during the peak period before the Lunar New Year.
Faced with the complex business and trading of frozen food, Hanoi City Police recommend that people be cautious when shopping for Tet food, only choose products with clear origins, prioritize reputable establishments, certified for food safety and hygiene. When detecting signs of violations, people need to promptly notify functional agencies to protect their own health and community during Tet.
