The substance that yellows bamboo shoots is very carcinogenic.

(Baonghean.vn) - Although amber is listed as a carcinogen, in Nghe An, authorities know very little about this chemical.

Mr. Duong Van Hung, Head of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management (Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) said that it is not yet possible to confirm what the color powder that the police discovered at two bamboo shoot production facilities in Vinh city is, whether it is yellow or not.

The Department is currently sending samples to Ho Chi Minh City for testing. Official results will be available in about 10 days.

Suspected yellow dye was used to dye fresh bamboo shoots yellow at two bamboo shoot production facilities in Doi Cung ward (Vinh city).

According to Master, Doctor Nguyen Dinh Tao (Nghe An Oncology Hospital): The yellow substance has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a group 3 carcinogen, meaning it has a high potential to cause cancer. In addition, this substance can also cause genetic mutations.

"This substance, after being absorbed into the blood, will be excreted to the kidneys. Therefore, people who eat foods containing this substance can cause leukemia and lymphoma. In addition, this substance is also the main cause of a number of diseases such as liver failure, kidney failure, and if acutely poisoned, it can cause bone marrow failure. For those who eat this substance directly, it can cause poisoning, vomiting, and diarrhea," said Dr. Tao.

Yellow powder suspected to be yellow ochre from two establishments was seized by police in Vinh City.

Mr. Hoang Quoc Son, Deputy Head of the Food Safety Department, said: In fact, I have not directly seen the yellow substance and in the past, the province has not recorded any specific cases of using yellow substance in food processing. Therefore, to know how this substance affects the health of consumers, please give me a few days to check again.

It is known that VAT Yellow is a chemical used in industry to dye fabrics, paper, wood... and used to make wall paint. In November 2015, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development issued Circular No. 42 on the additional list of chemicals and antibiotics banned from import, production, trading and use in animal feed and poultry in Vietnam.

Accordingly, 5 types of yellow are added to this list including: VAT YELLOW 1, VAT YELLOW 2, VAT YELLOW 3, VAT YELLOW 4, Auramine and derivatives of Auramine, also known as basic yellow 2, used in textile dyeing technology.

Thus, if the chemical used by these two fresh bamboo shoot production facilities is actually amber, then this is clearly an alarming issue, raising the responsibility of state management of banned substances in food processing for relevant functional sectors. Once, the functional agencies still have very little understanding of these banned substances, it is difficult to expect people to "become smart consumers".

Pham Bang