Signs that food has been 'poisoned' or bleached.

Illustration photo: Internet

However, according to Mr. HVTh., a beef ball maker in District 8, beef is bright red, so the correct color for this product is a darker, almost black color. To make beef balls, fish balls, fish cakes, etc., you must choose freshly slaughtered beef or fish, but with current "technology," even leftover meat or stale fish at the end of the day can be used to make attractive beef or fish balls.

The meat is put into a centrifuge (a specialized machine used to produce sausages, meatballs, and fish balls), along with various additives to prevent spoilage, reduce stickiness, and create a chewy, crispy, and smooth texture. After that, it's impossible to distinguish between fresh and old ingredients. Regarding the white color of the meatballs, many establishments use a bleaching chemical to hide the deteriorated color of the ingredients, and may also mix in other powders to cheat on quality.

Not only beef meatballs, but even pork intestines, pig stomach, beef tripe, blood cockles, etc., are suspected of having undergone soaking and bleaching processes.

Not only beef meatballs, but even pork intestines, pig stomach, beef tripe, blood cockles, etc., are suspected of having undergone soaking and bleaching processes. (Illustrative image: Internet)

One vendor stated bluntly: "This soaked sausage is delivered to restaurants. If you want delicious, crispy sausage, buy the cooked kind with a natural color. Here, I tell you exactly what color it is, no hiding anything." According to some nearby vendors, both raw and cooked sausages are soaked in bleach because they are all frozen, old stock.

The food most frequently soaked and bleached is seafood, especially squid, octopus, and blood cockles. In an interview with a reporter on this issue, Dr. Nguyen Quang Te, former Head of the Experimental Biology Department (Institute of Aquaculture Research I), stated that for profit, many small traders still use bleaching chemicals to "transform" spoiled seafood before selling it. Furthermore, during transportation, many establishments, for profit, even add urea to preserve the seafood and keep it fresh longer, preventing spoilage.

"In principle, for safe transportation, the formula is usually one part squid to two parts ice (meaning 1 kg of squid or octopus requires 2 kg of ice), but transportation becomes more difficult, so they add urea to make transportation easier and to preserve the seafood for longer," said Dr. Nguyen Quang Te.

The food most frequently soaked and bleached is seafood, especially squid, octopus, and blood cockles. (Illustrative image: Internet)

According to Dr. Te: Seafood decomposes within a few hours of dying. During this decomposition process, it produces the toxin histamine. Even thorough washing multiple times cannot remove all the harmful derivatives of urea or hydrogen peroxide that have seeped into the food, posing a health risk.

According to regulations from the Ministry of Health, hydrogen peroxide and urea are not on the list of permitted food additives. Regarding urea, consumers can experience acute poisoning if they eat seafood such as fish and squid with high urea levels. Even in small amounts, urea accumulates in the body regularly, leading to chronic damage, affecting the liver and kidneys, causing diarrhea, and neurological disorders.

Using industrial hydrogen peroxide to bleach and clean squid or octopus can also have a significant impact on health if toxins accumulate in the body. Industrial hydrogen peroxide contains many impurities that can cause intestinal and neurological diseases, depending on the specific substances.

Regarding foods at risk of borax abuse, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Duy Thinh, former staff member of the Institute of Biotechnology - Food Technology, Hanoi University of Science and Technology, said that it is possible to distinguish them by smell and color. For pork, meat treated with borax looks very fresh, with firm but dry muscle fibers. When cut, the inside of the meat is soft, contains fluid, and has poor elasticity. When eaten, the meat will be crumbly and have a foul odor.

Conversely, fresh, good quality pork is not slimy on the outside, the meat is firm and highly elastic. When pressed, the meat feels soft, indents briefly, then quickly returns to its original shape. When boiled, the broth is clear, the meat is fragrant, and it has a chewy texture. As for Vietnamese pork sausage (giò lụa), when buying, pay attention to its color and smell. Good quality sausage, when sliced, has a light pink color, a surface with many tiny pores, feels smooth and slightly moist to the touch, and has a sweet, fragrant taste that is not too crispy or crumbly. Sausage treated with borax will lack the characteristic richness of meat and will instead be unusually crispy and chewy…

How to distinguish between fresh seafood and seafood treated with chemicals.

Dr. Nguyen Quang Te stated: Seafood showing signs of spoilage always has a very distinctive rotten smell. In addition, the flesh is usually mushy and not as firm as fresh seafood. For frozen squid and octopus, check the packaging date and expiration date to avoid buying expired products. When preparing seafood, if you notice a fishy smell or an unpleasant taste, you should not eat it.

According to Dr. Nguyen Quang Te, to avoid buying seafood that has been soaked in chemicals, you can rely on some of the following sensory signs:

Blood cockles are often bleached with chemicals to give them an attractive color. (Illustrative image: Internet)

For octopus: It's best to choose a fresh, live octopus that is still swimming. A quality fresh octopus should have all its tentacles, bright, clear eyes, and firm, smooth, shiny skin, but its body should not be swollen. When cooked, the meat should be firm but not shrink, and release little water. The meat should be crispy, sweet, and fragrant.

Octopus soaked in chemicals, on the other hand, is usually pale white, and when smelled, it has a strange odor lacking its natural fishy smell, or even no smell at all.

Regarding squid, according to Associate Professor Dr. Tran Dang, when choosing squid, avoid those with a foul odor. Whole squid with all tentacles intact is best. Fresh squid will have a characteristic slightly fishy smell, be translucent white, with the outer membrane intact, the head and body attached, and the ink sac intact inside. Fresh squid's eyes will be bright, all tentacles will look fresh and bright, and the membrane will not be torn much.

Bleached squid is usually pure white, smooth, uniform, and visually appealing. If the squid is mushy, with the head not attached to the body, it is not fresh and should not be purchased. When cooked, it will lack the natural sweetness and aroma, and will have a slightly unpleasant smell, soft and mushy flesh…