On December 31, an official with expertise in food quality control in Dak Lak province said that in reality, it is very difficult to tell by sight whether bean sprouts circulating on the market are dirty or clean.
Because the product when reaching the consumer has been packaged or washed by the seller. It is difficult to verify with the naked eye.
If you take a sample of bean sprouts to analyze the ingredients and check the substances inside, it will be difficult to distinguish because in the list of substances banned from use in food by the Ministry of Health, there are thousands of types.
The best way to check if food is clean or dirty is to directly monitor the production and processing process. This is the step that determines the quality of the product.
Many businesses may declare their production process to the authorities in a systematic and regulated manner, but in reality, they do the opposite. For profit, many units can completely use chemicals to "magically" produce food.
The case of 6 establishments using the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine to soak bean sprouts is the clearest proof.
"It is very difficult for state management agencies to conduct surprise inspections of businesses, and prior notice is required. The police force has expertise and skills, so it will be easier to destroy dirty food production lines," the official added.
The leader of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) of Dak Lak province informed that 6 bean sprout production facilities in Buon Ma Thuot city were discovered and handled by the police force.
Of these, only Lam Dao Trading Company Limited (abbreviated as Lam Dao Company) was granted a certificate of food safety eligibility. The rest have not yet been granted a certificate of food safety eligibility.
According to the leader of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management, the unit only examines the conditions of the facilities in the preliminary processing and packaging to issue certificates of food safety eligibility. As for the production stage, the unit cannot inspect unless there is an emergency plan.
Mr. Nguyen Hoai Duong - Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dak Lak province confirmed that the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management granted the initial production eligibility license to Lam Dao Company.
In fact, daily monitoring of each production facility would be very difficult and almost no competent authority could implement it.
"The Department once proposed installing cameras to remotely monitor food production facilities. Food production facilities must keep electronic logs of formulas, processes, and production output, but this has not been accepted," Mr. Duong added.
As reported by Lao Dong Newspaper, the authorities have simultaneously inspected 6 bean sprout production facilities in Buon Ma Thuot city.
During the inspection, the subjects confessed that in the process of producing bean sprouts, they used lime, well water and a colorless liquid. The colorless liquid was often called "candy" water by the subjects.
According to the Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police, the "candy" water is the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine. This active ingredient is not on the list of substances permitted for use in food production and the list of pesticides permitted for use in Vietnam.
