Fake crab noodle soup is in high demand, but diners don't know it

The weather is hot, so crab noodle soup is always in high demand. However, many sellers, for profit, have "magically" transformed crab noodle soup, deceiving consumers.

A type of iron powder for food coloring is sold at Dong Xa market.

Mashed tofu mixed with crab meat

With the current price of field crabs at 100,000-150,000 VND/kg and the selling price of about 15,000-20,000 VND/bowl of crab noodle soup, sellers cannot make a profit without a "trick" of business. At crab noodle soup stalls, crab meat and roe are all pre-processed. According to Ms. Tam - a noodle soup vendor in front of Hospital 198 - most crab noodle soup stalls are half crushed tofu mixed with crab, because making fake crab noodle soup is not very complicated. With a little crab meat, the seller will crush the tofu and mix it in a pan with a little oil, adding a little crab broth to make it difficult for anyone to distinguish between crab meat and tofu. If only crab is used, the crab noodle soup will have a strong taste, the broth will be sweeter and have a distinctive smell, but if crushed tofu is added, the bowl of noodles will lose the crab flavor and the broth will be thin.

In fact, this preparation is not harmful to consumers' health because tofu is a safe food, however, this is a blatant deception of consumers. Many stores also use eggs to cover the white tofu and make it more eye-catching.

Golden crab broth thanks to... iron powder

In many markets, it is not difficult to buy color powder for vermicelli soup. To make the soup red, sellers often use annatto powder or pre-packaged broths and sauces for cooking crab soup. At Dong Xuan market, each box of crab soup color costs 45,000 VND and is sold in packs of 10 boxes, very easy to use, because it is in liquid form.

The second type of powder is annatto powder. A vendor at Dong Xa market immediately gave a package of annatto powder when the reporter asked to buy it to cook crab soup. There are all kinds of powder here, but this powder is used more than others and if you buy a lot, the price will be different. One kilogram of annatto powder costs from 60,000 to 80,000 VND. According to a familiar vendor, that annatto powder is just iron powder - an industrial colorant. According to a survey, most people who make crab noodle soup buy annatto powder without packaging or labels because it is very cheap. After touching it with their hands, this powder sticks to the skin for a long time, even if the hands are washed thoroughly. When observing crab noodle soup vendors, it is easy to see a red film on the side of the crab noodle soup pot, which is definitely iron powder.

According to the warning of the Food Safety Department - Ministry of Health, the use of industrial dyes in food production and processing is very harmful to health. For profit, many people selling crab noodle soup, a favorite dish in the summer, have used toxic dyes. Unfortunately, in Hanoi, most crab noodle soup vendors are street vendors, so it is difficult for authorities to control the quality. Therefore, consumers need to protect themselves by choosing hygienic food, if they do not want to bring trouble upon themselves.

According to Labor