"Matrix" of pure water and ice

(Baonghean) - In the hot summer, the demand for water and ice is very high. This is also the condition for pure water and ice production facilities to "spring up like mushrooms". However, the quality and food safety of these products are still a concern.

Bottled purified water from... wells

We "witnessed" the Mai Anh purified water production facility in hamlet 9, Hung Loc commune (Vinh city). This facility is located at the end of a vacant lot, in front of the house are scattered water containers waiting to be reused. It is said to be a production facility but it is just a house rented by the owner, less than 20 square meters wide, to house a water filtration machine placed in the corner of the house. I asked Mr. Phuong (a worker of the Mai Anh facility) where the water for production comes from? Mr. Phuong stammered and then admitted that it comes from... a drilled well, but it is processed through a modern machinery system, sterilized with ozone to ensure quality.

Entering the cramped room, we saw a shirtless, sweaty young man collecting water and packing it into bottles. Every 3-5 minutes, another young man used a cart to pull the freshly produced water bottles into neat rows. Outside, a group of people were actively loading water bottles onto trucks to transport them to agents everywhere. Mr. Phuong said: "Our products are sold cheaply, only 7,000 VND/18 liter bottle, each day we produce 450-500 bottles of pure water, supplying Vinh City and neighboring districts. When asked about the production license, Mr. Phuong did not show it but said: "This facility has all the necessary documents, and is periodically inspected by the authorities every month."

Workers at the Mai Anh purified water facility in hamlet 9, Hung Loc commune - Vinh city produce water without wearing protective clothing as prescribed.

We went to the Aqua Vinh purified water production facility in a small alley in Trung My hamlet, also in Hung Loc commune (Vinh city). This facility is cramped, we observed the old bottles that were discolored, the bottle caps and old faucets were roughly cleaned, then water was poured in, labeled and shipped for sale. Trusting us as people who were researching the water market, the workers whispered that the price could be lowered to 5,000 VND/bottle. If we agreed, the facility could deliver to our home.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Son, Vice Chairman of Hung Loc Commune People's Committee, said: Hung Loc Commune has 5 establishments producing bottled and jarred purified water, all of which have business licenses. In 2014, 1 establishment was suspended due to contaminated water. Most of the purified water production establishments in Hung Loc Commune mainly use drilled wells for production. During the inspection process, there was no coordination because the specialized inspection agencies did not know about it.

Workers of Mai Anh pure water production facility, hamlet 9, Hung Loc commune, Vinh city, work naked without protective gear as prescribed.

The simple production process and quick profits from pure water production have caused many production facilities to spring up in rural areas today, but the quality is verified, threatening the health and safety of consumers. A typical example is the Ngoc Phu pure water production facility in Vien market, Tang Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). The entrance to this facility is only about 3 meters wide, the production area is always in a state of "closed doors and bolts". Few people know that the flashy exterior of the Ngoc Phu pure water brand uses well water. The well is located near Vien market, Yen Thanh General Hospital and a densely populated area. In particular, the Vien market area is mainly land and the environment is not guaranteed. It is known that this facility sells quite well purified water products to Yen Thanh General Hospital, Tang Thanh commune, Xuan Thanh, Dong Thanh, with prices ranging from 8,000 - 10,000 VND/19 liter bottle.

Through research, it is known that pure water production facilities in the province mainly use well water sources to... bottle, very few facilities use tap water. The worrying thing is that most production facilities reuse old bottles, while the process of rinsing and preserving the bottle shell is not correct. To create trust for customers, pure water processing facilities often choose product names similar to famous brands, such as Aquafina becomes AquaVinh, Aquasona... Although the production workshops are narrow, they are arranged with warehouses without any partitions between the production areas, and workers do not wear protective clothing according to regulations.

Pure water production line costs from 50-70 million VND

Recycled water bottles were thrown haphazardly next to the garbage area.

According to experts, the process of producing bottled water to ensure quality must go through 6 steps: Raw water must be filtered through activated carbon to deodorize, then ion exchange to remove minerals, then reverse filtration to remove microorganisms. The bottling system must ensure a sterile environment, treated with ultraviolet rays to prevent microorganisms. Therefore, if the above processes are followed correctly, bottled water reaching consumers cannot be so cheap. Therefore, when drinking directly these types of water produced without following the correct process, there may still be heavy metals, microorganisms, and even green pus organisms (a type of bacteria that causes many dangerous complications for humans such as pericarditis, respiratory tract infections, pneumonia, blood infections...).

Bottled and jarred drinking water has become an essential commodity for everyone, due to its affordable price and saving time in cooking. Bottled drinking water in our province has a "forest" of products, with many brands; many products are packaged in very eye-catching boxes, with full stamps and labels. Mr. Tran Hai in Dien Thai - Dien Chau, an agent specializing in selling purified water under the Vinh Hao brand... confessed: "The distributor receives the goods for sale, but we have never been to the place of production and are not sure if the quality is as advertised. They give us their phone number, we just need to call them and they will deliver to our place." Ms. Thai Thi Thoa in Bac Thanh (Yen Thanh) said: "For a long time, whenever we run out of water, we just need to call and the agent will bring it to us, but we don't know if the water is really clean or not?".

Be careful with ice cubes

In Dien Chau district, there are currently about 10 ice block production points, many outside establishments "advertise" "ice blocks for refrigeration" but the goods "find their way" to beer shops, sweet soup shops, sugarcane juice shops... We had the opportunity to observe with our own eyes the ice block production "furnace" of Mr. Dong in Dien Ngoc commune (Dien Chau), this facility is over 50m2 wide, the cooling tank system is assembled with dirty planks, and the workshop owner wears shoes and sandals when taking ice. Mr. Tri Nguyen, the son of the owner of this ice workshop, said: "The main water source is both tap water and well water, each day it can run about 500 ice blocks, sold at 12,000 VND/block weighing 30 kg". In addition to being sold to some boats to preserve fish, the ice here is mainly bought directly by beer shops and restaurants. In Dien Ngoc commune, there are currently 3 ice block production facilities with worrying product quality.

We "searched" for Mr. Tam's ice block production facility in Hop Thanh commune (Yen Thanh). The ice production site is located close to the chicken farm. In addition to serving the local market, Mr. Tam's wife also sells ice block products at Hom market in Hop Thanh commune, Dinh market in Hoa Thanh commune... Through research, we learned that most ice production facilities use outdated technology, mainly ice tanks are built with bricks or dashboards. Meanwhile, the standards for clean ice production must meet the following criteria: Water must be taken from a depth of 90m, meeting 40 criteria for heavy metals, finished ice products must meet 22 criteria, including 6 criteria for microorganisms. Must be processed through a reverse osmosis filtration system and kill bacteria with ultraviolet rays. Molds, ice cutters, water tanks... of the ice block production system are all made of stainless steel, not rusty. The production cycle must be closed, completely automatic, without human intervention. Clean ice when put into a glass of water is transparent, the melting time of clean ice is 4-5 times longer than "dirty" ice.

Ice block production does not ensure food safety in Dien Ngoc commune - Dien Chau.

Mr. Dao Trong Dung, Head of the Provincial Department of Food Hygiene and Safety, said: The whole province currently has 90 establishments producing bottled water, 14 establishments producing purified ice (these establishments all have registration and business licenses). However, for the production of bottled water and purified ice, management is still quite difficult. In 2014, a number of establishments were discovered to have substandard water samples, and one establishment in Hung Loc commune (Vinh City) was suspended due to contaminated water. Besides a number of licensed purified ice production establishments, there are also many ice production locations in rural areas that cannot be fully managed. Meanwhile, the force to inspect and check the above items is not regular because the human resources are too thin. Currently, the Department of Food Hygiene and Safety is establishing an inspection team to review, inspect, check, and take samples of bottled water, ice, and domestic water for testing. All products that violate the law and pose a risk to people's health will be suspended.

Water and ice are products that directly affect human health. To protect consumers' health, the authorities need to strengthen market management, inspect production processes and product quality. At the same time, the authorities need to make a list of establishments that produce bottled drinking water and ice that violate food safety and hygiene procedures; provide timely information and warnings to the community.

PV Group