The case of 3,000 tons of bean sprouts containing extremely toxic substances: is there a certificate to make safe 'charms'?

On December 27, the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management (Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) issued a certificate of "facility meeting food safety conditions" to produce and trade bean sprouts for Lam Dao Trading Company Limited.

This company is the supplier of bean sprouts to Bach Hoa Xanh, from 350 to 400 kg per day. This certificate was issued on April 22, valid for 3 years; the person who signed the certificate at that time was Mr. Tran Ngoc Trinh, Head of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management.

According to the tax code registration, Lam Dao Company has the business of processing, packaging, and trading green bean sprouts, operating since January 11, with the representative being Lam Van Dao. Mr. Dao has just been prosecuted by Dak Lak Provincial Police along with 3 others for violating food safety regulations, because during the bean sprout production process, he used toxic banned substances.

Mr. Do Tuan Hung, Head of the Dak Lak Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management (replacing Mr. Tran Ngoc Trinh from October 2024), recently sent people to join the police in the investigation of a case of violating food safety regulations when producing bean sprouts.

Answering the question of why Lam Dao Company was granted a certificate of food safety eligibility but used a banned substance (active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine) without being detected, Mr. Hung said that the department only manages and inspects production conditions, and when production conditions meet food safety standards, it issues a certificate, but the fact that they secretly used banned substances during the production process was not detected.

Regarding product quality control of bean sprouts when they are put on the market, Mr. Hung said that the department randomly takes samples for testing, each year only doing a few samples at wholesale markets and trading establishments, many times it cannot "cover" all.

Previously, through monitoring on cyberspace, using professional measures, the Economic Police Department - Dak Lak Provincial Police discovered that the group of subjects in the group "Southern Bean Sprouts Association" and "Bean Sprouts Association" had signs of violating regulations on food hygiene and safety.

The Economic Police Department - Dak Lak Provincial Police simultaneously inspected 6 bean sprout production facilities above. Including: 2 facilities of Lam Van Dao, born in 1990, residing in Buon Ko Tam, Ea Tu commune; 2 facilities of Vu Duy Tu, born in 1991, residing in Residential Group 8, Tan Hoa ward; 1 facility of Nguyen Van Quynh, born in 1973, residing in Residential Group 6, Tan Hoa ward; 1 facility of Nguyen Van Hao, born in 1988, residing in Residential Group 1, Tan Hoa ward.

Police discovered the establishments were using a colorless liquid, which the group called "candy water."

This is a chemical that is not on the list of chemicals allowed for use in food production and the list of pesticides allowed for use in Vietnam.

However, these establishments still regularly use this banned substance to mix into the water used to soak and incubate bean sprouts, with the purpose of shortening the bean sprout roots to concentrate nutrients to develop large, plump bean sprout stems, increase weight and have a beautiful appearance. During the inspection, the Economic Police Department - Dak Lak Provincial Police discovered and seized 20,357 kg of bean sprouts that this group had soaked in the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine.

The investigation results clarified that in 2024, this group sold about 2,900 tons of bean sprouts soaked in the chemical 6-Benzylaminopurine to the market. The subjects often sold wholesale to agents at Tan Hoa wholesale market, Buon Ma Thuot city, then transported to districts, towns, and cities for consumption.

It is worth mentioning that on the packaging of these bean sprouts, there are very eye-catching labels such as "For everyone's health", "no chemicals", "no stimulants", "no preservatives".

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