Although the Hanoi Market Management Department has returned the confiscated goods, the business said that the consequences are very severe.

Ms. Huynh Vu Thi Minh Loan, Deputy General Director of Viet Foods, said that after the company's 2.2-ton shipment of Vietfoods sausages was temporarily detained and administratively fined by Team 14 - Hanoi Market Management Department on suspicion of containing carcinogens, the company was on the brink of bankruptcy.

Specifically, for over a month, the company had to stop production, over 100 workers quit, sold goods were returned, goods in the warehouse could not be consumed, and consumers turned their backs on the products. The above incident caused the company to lose tens of billions of dong, even some customers who owed billions of dong "followed the rain" and refused to pay for their purchases.

“This is a very serious consequence when the management agency makes irresponsible statements that mislead consumers. Up to now, although we have been cleared, it is very difficult to re-establish the market,” said Ms. Loan.

Authorities test samples at Viet Foods' facility. Photo: Nguyet Trieu

The Deputy General Director of Viet Foods also said that releasing information to the market without an accurate conclusion from the competent authority affected not only her company but also many other related businesses in the industry, even causing serious sales reductions.

A representative of Ha Long Canned Food Company said that although the company had done nothing wrong and its products had always been tested for safety, the purchasing power of the company’s sterilized sausage products had also dropped sharply over the past month. Many consumers were confused and limited their purchases of the company’s products, and some consumers even bought the products and then did not dare to use them.

Behn Meyer Company - a supplier of additives, said that after the information that the above additives cause cancer, the company's sales dropped by 50%. Customers continuously called to ask for information and questions.

“This information not only kills Viet Foods but also kills related businesses. I think through this incident, the management agency needs to thoroughly investigate the matter before announcing the information,” said representative Behn Meyer.

Previously, on April 20, Team 14 - Hanoi Market Management Department issued a document to administratively sanction Viet Foods and temporarily seized 2.2 tons of sausages suspected of containing the banned cancer-causing substance sodium nitrade.

Immediately after being arrested and administratively fined by the Hanoi market management agency, Viet Foods submitted a petition to the Department of Food Safety (Ministry of Health) requesting that this agency review the matter.

After getting involved, the Food Safety Department confirmed that sodium nitrate is an additive allowed for use in food, listed in Appendix 1 - Circular 27/2012/TT-BYT dated November 30, 2012 of the Ministry of Health guiding the management of food additives. The content of this substance in Viet Foods' products is lower than the maximum limit of Circular 27. In Europe, the use of sodium nitrate additives is still allowed in products containing meat and ready-to-eat, including ready-to-eat sausages. As for processed meats, there has been no official announcement.

"Since being granted an operating license, the facility has worked with the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene, Binh Duong Department of Health to complete procedures to request confirmation of compliance with food safety regulations. Sodium nitrade-251 is a color-stabilizing additive that is not only found in Viet Foods products but also used by other food manufacturers. This substance is not only allowed by Vietnamese management agencies, but even in the US, they have stipulated a permissible limit of less than 300mg/kg," Ms. Loan added.

Vietfoods suffered heavy losses after information that its products contained carcinogens.

Also confirming that Viet Foods was wronged, Mr. Nguyen Thanh Danh, Deputy Head of the Binh Duong Market Management Department, said that at the time of inspection, the production facility had complete legal documents, documents that met food safety conditions according to current regulations; the origin of the processed materials was complete and the certificates of conformity for the 8 products being produced, the hygiene and safety conditions, and production equipment all met the requirements...

“With the above working method, I see that my colleagues did wrong, very wrong in terms of professional expertise. Therefore, if the management agency makes mistakes, it should compensate for damages and apologize to the business. The media should be careful when reporting and review the documents clearly,” said Mr. Danh.

Mr. Tran Minh Trong, Vice President of Binh Duong Business Federation, also expressed his opinion that the management agency's hasty conclusion caused the business to not "die" because of 2.2 tons of seized sausages but "die" because of false information. Therefore, Mr. Trong suggested that the management agency should apologize and correct the information so that consumers know. At the same time, handle the person who caused the violation to deter and avoid causing trouble for the business in the future.

As for Viet Foods, this unit wants the market management agency to cancel the case against the company and make a public apology in the media. If the management agency does not comply with the above request, the company may sue in court.

Up to now, although the incident has been cleared up and the Food Safety Department concluded that Viet Foods did not commit any violations, the Hanoi market management agency has only decided to return the goods to the business but has not made any compensation or apology.

According to VnExpress