Patients save every penny to buy " worries"
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hong (Yen Thuy, Hoa Binh) has had thyroid cancer for 3 years. After being examined and treated at a hospital in Hanoi, Ms. Hong was recommended by health workers to buy milk with iodine supplementation to support the treatment process. It is worth mentioning that after the case of fake milk being un braned, the milk she used could not be found on the market.
"I listened to doctors and nurses buy milk to drink for a while. After the fake milk incident was reported in the press, I tried to buy it but people were not selling the milk anymore. really worried and frustrated, so what have I been drinking for the past year?
People with illness like me in the countryside are very hard-working, spending a lot of money, thinking a lot before daring to buy a box of milk. Milk is also not cheap (more than 750 thousand VND/box), so I am worried about buying fake milk and poor quality milk," Ms. Hong said indignantly.
Sharing under the post "Self-declared Milk Surrounds K Hospital", reader Thuy Linh was upset sharing her family's story, when taking her child to the National Institute of Nutrition for examination.
"The doctor advised me to drink milk under the name Nutralait from the Institute, I trusted him so I gave him 3 boxes to drink, the ingredients (as stated) were imported from New Zealand, produced in Vietnam. Seeing a strange name but thinking it was for sale by the Institute, I was assured to buy it for my children to drink, until now, checking the information of the production and distribution company, I have not found much.
It is a strange milk that is not popular in the market, only bought at the hospital, then read the information that fake milk is not sold in the market but wriggles into hospitals for easy consumption and avoids the management units. Do not know if this milk is guaranteed, there is toxic substance that causes kidney failure, your child drinks and soaked in people, if there is a health effect, who is there? Hopefully, the agencies to strictly manage the dairy products sold on the market, but in the hospital, but not real, where is it, "Thuy Linh shared.
In the series of articles, many readers said that they were even forced to buy milk by medical facilities - the places that came to see and treat them - immediately after coming to see and receive treatment.
"I used to take care of my family members at the Central Endocrinology Hospital - Tu Hiep (Thanh Tri, Hanoi), where almost everyone undergoing surgery was forced to buy milk," said an account named Tien Dat.
"I was advised to buy milk at Tan Trieu K Hospital (Thanh Tri) in 2019, so anyone who has undergone surgery can buy a box," reader Ha Phuong informed.
"My daughter is no longer there, when she was being treated for (cancer), the family cherished every tablespoon of milk when my child had finished drinking it. Hopefully, he will recover from the pain and torment. But the manufacturer makes fake milk to deceive consumers and patients, an unethical act that is unacceptable," Nguyen Hien commented.
Easy self-declaration, lax after-inspection, poor quality milk is rampant
With just a few administrative records, a company seal, or even a factory or laboratory, many domestic enterprises can "transform" dozens of milk products, legally announce them and easily circulate them on the market.
The regulation on self-declaration of food according to Decree 15/2018/ND-CP is expected to help businesses reduce procedures and save costs. However, in reality, it is this facility that is being exploited by some subjects to legalize poor quality products, even of unknown origin.
The story in Hoa Binh province is a typical example. According to the report of the Provincial Interdisciplinary Steering Committee on Food Safety, from January to September 2024, the authorities discovered 305 milk product dossiers with signs of forgery. In particular, the two companies used the same address, the... obstetrics and gynecology clinic, to self-declare 51 milk products. It is worth mentioning that this address does not have any production or testing activities related to food, let alone powdered milk.
According to the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health), the current process of announcement does not require enterprises to send test samples to the authorities. They only need test results at a licensed unit to complete the procedure. Meanwhile, the post -inspection forces are thin, the locality lacks human resources, leading to a strong situation, even borrowing the name to legalize the wrongdoing.
The facility of self-declaration of milk products is not only a legal loophole, but is becoming a direct threat to public health, especially for young children. It is time for a comprehensive and serious review, if not, we want the milk market to become a "fat cake" for profiteers.
