Former Director of Food Safety Department of Ministry of Health arrested

On May 13, the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency announced that it had prosecuted five officers of the Food Safety Department (FSD), Ministry of Health, for the act of "Take bribes".

The defendants include: Nguyen Thanh Phong (former Director of the Food Safety Department of the Ministry of Health); Dinh Quang Minh (Director of the Food Safety Application and Training Center); Nguyen Thi Minh Hai (Deputy Director of the Food Safety Application and Training Center); Le Thi Hien (Expert 2, Food Safety Application and Training Center) and Cao Van Trung (Deputy Head of the Poisoning Monitoring Department).

In which, applying preventive measures of prohibiting Nguyen Thi Minh Hai from leaving her place of residence; Arresting and detaining the remaining 4 defendants.

Previously, the police agency investigated a case of manufacturing and trading counterfeit food, food additives and violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences, occurring at MediPhar Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and related units and organizations.

The Investigation Police Agency has clarified the violations of the officers of the Food Safety Department, Ministry of Health in the appraisal, post-inspection, and issuance of 4 Certificates of food safety qualified facilities meeting good manufacturing practices (GMP Certificates) for MediPhar Factory and MediUSA Factory; and issuance of 207 Certificates of acceptance of product declaration registration (Product declaration licenses) for a group of 9 companies of Nguyen Nang Manh.

According to investigation documents, since 2016, Nguyen Nang Manh, Do Manh Hoang, and Khuc Minh Vu have organized and operated 9 companies, MediPhar Factory and MediUSA Factory to produce and consume fake functional foods in exceptionally large quantities and diverse types.

To produce and consume fake functional foods on the market, Nguyen Nang Manh and Do Manh Hoang agreed to pay money to "lobby" the Food Safety Department in assessing, post-inspecting and licensing the product announcement.

In order for the MediUSA and MediPhar factories to be assessed, post-inspected, granted GMP Certificates and put into production soon, Manh and Hoang paid the Appraisal Inspection Team (chaired by the Food Safety Department) more than 1 billion VND to reduce the number of errors during the assessment, provide instructions on how to fix them, and give time to fix the errors.

During the error correction process, MediUSA and MediPhar companies only performed it perfunctorily, formally, and perfunctorily. Mr. Cao Van Trung, as Deputy Head of the Poison Control Department, only evaluated the error correction reports of the two companies based on the documents and photos sent by the two companies, without checking their authenticity.

Since then, the Food Safety Department has issued 4 GMP Certificates to MediUSA Company and MediPhar Company; creating conditions for these 2 companies to produce fake food in large quantities.

The investigation results of the fake milk case handled by the Office of the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency initially determined that 9 products were fake, illegally profiting, affecting people's rights, causing outrage in public opinion.

The Investigation Police Department clarified the violations in the issuance of Product Declaration Certificates. Nguyen Nang Manh and Do Manh Hoang directed employee Hoang Thi Huong to give more than 2 billion VND to the specialist receiving the application for product declaration license at the Food Safety Department.

Since then, the leaders and staff of the Food Safety Department have facilitated the licensing of 207 products for Nguyen Nang Manh's group of 9 companies including: MediPhar, MediUSA, MegaLife, Viet Duc, Mega Pharco, Viet Phap, Joint Venture USA, PharmaCist and Vita Phar.

The case is under further investigation.