Worried about dirty ham, housewives buy meat and hire people to process it
(Baonghean.vn) - At this time, some businesses in Vinh city have started to receive orders for Chung cake and ham for Tet. The items have increased compared to normal days. Worried about dirty food, many housewives choose fresh meat themselves, hire people to process and "supervise" the ham making process.
Recently, the mass media has been continuously updating information about dirty pork, beef, and buffalo meat being “transformed” into beef jerky, bacon, buffalo jerky, dried beef, and Chinese sausage; some ham and sausage production facilities use additives of unknown origin, causing confusion among consumers, especially when the Lunar New Year is approaching and the demand for these products is increasing.
Faced with that situation, to be "safe", most housewives choose to buy fresh meat and then bring it to ham making facilities, directly "supervising" the stages. "Although it takes time and costs more than buying ready-made meat, I feel secure about the quality and food safety", said a resident.
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| Many housewives choose the meat themselves and then hire someone to make the ham directly. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Currently, the owners of establishments that grind and make all kinds of ham have accepted orders to make ham, sausage, dried beef, and dried pork floss for hire... Ms. Nguyen Thi B., a ham shop owner at Hung Dung market, said: "This year, many housewives choose all kinds of meat and bring them here to make ham and sausage, instead of buying pre-processed ham. Therefore, the service of grinding, wrapping, and boiling ham is quite popular during this time. The cost of each kilogram of ham (including spices) is about 30,000 VND, and sausage is 40,000 VND/kg. Currently, many households have registered orders from December 22 to 29. During this time, our ham factory usually needs up to 5 workers to meet the needs of customers."
Surveys at some markets such as Vinh market, Quan Lau market, Hung Dung market... show that the prices of ham of all kinds have gradually increased following the price of meat. Specifically, pork ham: 110,000 - 120,000 VND/kg; beef ham 270,000 - 290,000 VND/kg; ham 180,000 - 200,000 VND/kg; sausage 100,000 VND/kg; dried beef 800,000 - 1,000,000 VND/kg; pork jerky: 400,000 VND/kg... It is forecasted that from December 23, the prices of ham of all kinds will increase by about 20 - 30% compared to present.
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| Banh chung makers in My Thanh block, Dong Vinh ward (Vinh city) have started receiving Tet orders. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
Along with ham and sausage, many establishments specializing in making Tet Chung cakes have begun to bustle. The owner of an establishment specializing in making Tet Chung cakes in My Thanh block, Dong Vinh ward said: "Starting after the full moon of the twelfth lunar month, we receive orders to make Tet cakes. The cakes are imported for wholesale markets, retail, orders from agencies, units, and stores and supermarkets. At this time, the prices of ingredients for making cakes such as dong leaves, sticky rice, meat, green beans, etc. all increase, so the price of cakes also increases. In addition, Tet cakes should choose beautiful dong leaves and have more fillings. On average, the price of cakes increases by about 10 - 20%".
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| It is expected that after the Kitchen Gods' Tet, the price of cakes will increase by about 10 - 20%. Photo: Thanh Phuc |
According to the owners of banh chung wrapping establishments, the price of banh chung this year is commonly between 30,000 - 70,000 VND/piece (depending on weight); banh tet costs from 60,000 - 100,000 VND/piece.
