Fake crab vermicelli 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 freshwater crabs at 100,000-150,000 VND/kg and the selling price of about 15,000-20,000 VND/bowl of crab vermicelli soup, sellers cannot make a profit without a "trick" of business. At crab vermicelli soup stalls, crab meat and roe are all pre-processed. According to Ms. Tam - a vermicelli soup vendor in front of Hospital 198 - most crab vermicelli soup stalls are half crushed tofu mixed with crab, because making fake crab vermicelli 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 rieu soup to make it difficult for anyone to distinguish between crab meat and tofu. If only crab is used, the vermicelli soup will have a strong taste, the vermicelli soup will be sweeter and have a characteristic smell, but if crushed tofu is added, the bowl of vermicelli will lose the crab flavor and the vermicelli soup 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 colorant for crab noodle 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 colorant costs 45,000 VND and is only 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 types 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 colorants 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 colorants. 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 food that ensures hygiene, if they do not want to bring trouble upon themselves.

According to Labor