Ho Chi Minh City Police have just dismantled a ring of preliminary processing and consumption of industrially soaked snail meat with a particularly large scale, causing public outrage.
Previously, the Economic Police Department conducted an inspection of a food pre-processing facility without labels in Binh Dong ward.
At the time of inspection, the police discovered and temporarily seized more than 3 tons of pre-processed snail meat, all soaked in sodium silicate chemical solution. Expanding the inspection, functional forces continued to discover and seize an additional 1,575 kg of sodium silicate chemical hidden to serve snail soaking.
According to MSc.BS Bui Thi Duyen - Head of Nutrition Department of Military Hospital 175, sodium silicate - also known as liquid glass - is an inorganic compound of sodium and silicon. This substance is commonly used in industry such as producing detergents, glue, cement, metal processing, waterproofing...
Dr. Duyen emphasized that sodium silicate is not a food additive and is not allowed to be used in food processing or preservation.
For health, sodium silicate is strongly alkaline, so when in contact or entering the body, it can cause many harms.
Acute, when eating food contaminated with sodium silicate, it can cause irritation, burning of the mouth - esophagus - stomach mucosa, leading to nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, diarrhea.
In the long term, frequent exposure or use of food contaminated with this substance has the risk of causing chronic damage to the digestive tract, metabolic disorders, affecting the liver and kidneys, and increasing the risk of other chronic diseases. Children, the elderly, and people with underlying diseases are more susceptible to severe effects.
Dr. Duyen recommends that if you just eat and have symptoms such as abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, stop using it immediately. Note, do not arbitrarily cause vomiting and should go to a medical facility for monitoring and timely treatment.
If you have eaten before but have no symptoms, you should monitor your health for 24 - 48 hours; drink enough water, eat light meals; go to the doctor if there are abnormal signs in digestion.
To prevent it, Dr. Duyen recommends that people not buy snails or seafood of unknown origin; be wary of products that are unusually white, crispy, and do not spoil after being stored for a long time; prioritize buying at reputable establishments with food safety control.
