Beware of "miracle drugs"

Jujubes are being advertised as a “miracle drug” that can strengthen the spleen, clear heat, and treat headaches and insomnia. The benefits of apples are not denied, but consumers should pay attention to their clear origin and food safety conditions to protect their health and that of their families.

Advertising is everywhere

Recently, information about jujubes with prices of 80 - 120 thousand/kg has appeared on the internet. Posing as someone who wants to buy the "miracle drug" jujube, the reporter contacted the phone number 0904xxxxx of an online store on 48 Tran Hung Dao Street, Hanoi. The staff there enthusiastically explained the uses of jujubes: This type of apple is especially good for health, sweet taste, cool properties, fresh and crispy, people with internal heat or insomnia should eat it, it is very good for health.

When we asked if this imported fruit was safe for food, this employee reassured us: "The apples we import are guaranteed to be clean, and babies won't have any problems eating them, so you don't have to worry about the quality." However, when we asked for documents certifying that the imported product was safe for food, this employee evaded the issue and changed the subject.

This fruit is advertised as a multifunctional "miracle drug", with the effect of clearing heat, curing headaches and insomnia, better than the dried jujube found in traditional Chinese medicine.

Another online store owned by Ms. K. Luong on Nguyen Trai Street advertised: “It’s the season for fresh jujubes, this fruit is especially good for your health. If you want to eat, please let me know the quantity, and I will deliver the goods to you tomorrow. Everyone, please order quickly. The lovely price is only 110,000 VND/kg. I guarantee it is both delicious and nutritious...”.

According to many sellers, jujube is a specialty that can only be grown in China. This fruit is directly imported by the seller at the border gate. Accordingly, the selling price is several tens of thousands of dong cheaper than others. In particular, the apples are also guaranteed to be fresh, crispy and sweet.

Food safety notes

Holding two bags of jujubes that she had just received from an online shipper, Ms. Kim Loan (Pho Vong, Hanoi) shared that this type of apple has a sweet taste, completely different from the astringent taste of Vietnamese apples. That is why her husband and children love to eat jujubes. To get 4kg of these jujubes, she had to order them two days in advance.

Ms. Loan confirmed that when buying apples, she researched online and saw that traditional medicine practitioners confirmed that apples are a traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effect of strengthening the spleen and curing insomnia. Therefore, when the seller said that this is a traditional Chinese medicine, which has the effect of clearing heat, curing headaches and insomnia, she was very confident and immediately ordered a few kilos to try.

However, when asked by reporters about the food safety issue of apples, Ms. Loan only said that although she could not present any documents, the seller committed to ensuring safety and that the product had been tested by full scientific methods (?!)

An expert in the cultivation industry said that jujubes are commonly grown in China. They often harvest this type of apple to dry as an ingredient in traditional Chinese medicine. When the fruit is ripe, it is very difficult to preserve and is prone to being crushed.

As for whether this apple is clean or not, this expert believes that consumers should be careful and buy it from places with clear origins. Because there is currently nothing to prove that this is a clean and safe fruit. The basic requirements from the origin, import and preservation methods are all unclear, so it is mainly just believing the seller.

Talking to reporter Associate Professor Dr. Pham Viet Du, Deputy Director of the Military Traditional Medicine Hospital, said that apple is a traditional medicine, has the effect of strengthening the spleen, curing insomnia... However, to ensure the health of users, it is necessary to pay attention to the clear origin of the product and the food safety conditions of the product.

According to VOV