"Magic" rotten shrimp into dried seafood

For profit, many traders have soaked rotten shrimp in chemical dyes to "turn" them into attractive dried shrimp, attracting buyers, seriously affecting the health of consumers.

Recently, videos and images of dried shrimp soaked in chemicals have been widely posted online, causing confusion and fear among consumers who have used this product for a while.

People "boycott", intermediaries "distraught"

With the business method of purchasing large quantities of waste shrimp - a type of rotten, poor quality shrimp and then "magically" transforming it into dried shrimp, it brings "super huge" profits to the traders. Leaving serious potential consequences for the "followers" of this type of seafood to bear.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mai (consumer, Cau Giay, Hanoi) said: “When summer comes, my family often eats shrimp soup because it is cool and easy to eat. But recently, there has been a lot of information saying that dried shrimp contains chemicals that can seriously harm health, so I don’t cook dried shrimp anymore.”

To make shrimp more attractive, shrimp producers use dyes.

According to Ms. Mai, the price of dried shrimp ranges from 700,000 VND/kg - 1,300,000 VND/kg and is sold widely in markets and grocery stores. All types of dried shrimp sold do not have labels, expiration dates, or production origins... but are still sold to consumers.

Ms. Trinh Thi Hue (owner of a dry food stall at Cau Dien market, Tu Liem, Hanoi) expressed her concern: “Since the news of chemicals being used in dry food, people have been cautious and have not come to buy as much as before, causing a significant drop in revenue. We hope that the authorities will investigate and clarify. If our products contain chemicals, they will be removed. If they do not contain chemicals, what form must be taken so that people can feel secure buying our products.”

Also selling dried goods at Cau Dien market, Ms. Tran Thi Thom (Tu Liem, Hanoi) was upset: “Chicken, pork… all have product quality checks so consumers feel secure when using them. But we do not have quality checks so people will boycott us immediately after hearing rumors. So we don’t know when we will be able to sell our inventory, many dried goods traders may go bankrupt”. The worries of dried goods traders are not unfounded because recently the purchasing power of dried shrimp has slowed down.

Spoiled and even smelly shrimp are processed into specialty dried shrimp.

Liver and kidney damage due to eating chemically treated dried shrimp

To attract customers, manufacturers have soaked them in chemicals to enhance flavor and color. In addition, many profiteers have taken advantage of chemical-containing dyes to “turn” rotten shrimp into delicious dried food, seriously affecting the health of consumers.

Speaking to Vietnam Quality, Ms. Huynh Hong Nga (Deputy Director of the Department of Quality Management for Food Hygiene and Safety under the Ministry of Health) said: “If manufacturing enterprises use dyes containing toxic industrial chemicals in their products, it will harm the liver and kidneys of users. Because the dyes are usually inorganic and toxic substances, they will cause illness after a long time of use…”.

Through research, there are many types of dyes sold in the open market, but most of them are of toxic inorganic origin. The chemical industry has synthesized many dyes derived from Aniline, an industrial product of petroleum. Aniline in its pure form is very toxic. Inorganic dyes have many harmful effects that cause chronic poisoning, sometimes many years later, symptoms of the disease are discovered.

Some health experts warn that to prevent the harmful effects of food dyed with dyes, consumers should buy food with a clear origin, product quality certification, and manufacturer's label. If you see your health decline, you should immediately go to a medical station for timely care.

According to Vietnam.net