Information on fish sauce containing Arsenic: Will it be difficult to succeed in business based on fear?

Survey results of fish sauce products by Vinastas (Vietnam Standards and Consumer Protection Association)The announcement said that 67.33% of fish sauce surveyed had total arsenic content exceeding the permissible threshold, causing confusion among consumers. Supermarkets and distributors have asked fish sauce manufacturers to explain...

» 'Organic arsenic in fish sauce is almost harmless'

Consumers are confused by Vinastas' announcement regarding arsenic content in fish sauce. Photo: TL

Users confused, businesses struggle to explain

Recently, the Vietnam Association for Standards and Consumer Protection (Vinastas) announced a survey of 150 fish sauce samples in 19 provinces and cities; it was discovered that up to 101 samples (accounting for 67.33% of the fish sauce surveyed) had total arsenic content exceeding the permissible threshold.

The results emphasized fish sauces with high protein content, which means high total arsenic. Specifically, 95.65% of the surveyed samples with protein content of 40 degrees or more were assessed to have "arsenic content exceeding the prescribed threshold".

According to Vinastas representative, the above survey lasted more than 1 month, conducted with 150 samples from 19 provinces and cities and "of course there were sponsors" for this survey but also affirmed "The Association did not receive money from any business to conduct the survey".

On the sidelines of the results announcement, a Vinastas representative said that the identities of the failed products would not be announced, but the information was only intended to warn consumers.

However, on the same evening, a number of social networking sites posted the results of the above fish sauce survey with a table arranged according to the level of arsenic contamination, with full name and manufacturer.

At this time, many skeptical opinions about the real “motive” of Vinastas with the function of protecting consumers have also been raised. Opinions of some experts in the medical field and fish sauce manufacturers said that Vinastas is acting in the name of consumers and is making consumers more confused, at the same time making it difficult for traditional fish sauce manufacturers.

Representatives of some fish sauce manufacturing enterprises said that supermarkets and distributors are requesting explanations to each customer.

Mr. Huynh Ngoc Diep, Director of 584 Nha Trang Seafood JSC, said that when the above information was released, the business was very tired. With the responsibility of a businessman, Mr. Diep patiently answered each consumer. "I am on the defensive so I need to explain to each person, each customer, it is very tiring," Mr. Diep said.

According to Mr. Diep, in addition to some customers who are hesitant, supermarkets and distributors also require checklists. “This causes damage to businesses and we are traditional fish sauce producers, not like industrial countries that have products today and tomorrow. When serving people this Tet holiday, we also have to prepare production 3-4 months in advance because the fish sauce must be ripe enough. With information like this, what should businesses do if they cannot sell their stocks? What should they do if they cannot sell their stocks?”, Mr. Diep asked.

“Fear-based marketing is hard to succeed with fish sauce”

Regarding information from Vinastas, the unit that announced the survey results conducted a survey of 150 fish sauce samples in more than 1 month in 19 provinces and cities, Mr. Diep said that Vinastas took samples for testing without the presence of the business. If taking samples to check information is okay, but taking samples to announce information as done is not following the correct procedure.

Nghe An authorities check the quality of traditional fish sauce. Photo: Van Nguyen

“When taking samples for testing, there must be a business that takes the samples, stores the samples and compares them because the test samples themselves are often different. We have personally dealt with this problem many times,” Mr. Diep added.

The director of this company also said that he did not know the purpose of Vintastas when announcing the fish sauce survey. “The list was leaked on the same day Vinastas announced the survey results. Was Vinastas affected? I think Vinastas did the wrong thing and was not transparent,” Mr. Diep emphasized.

Mr. Diep also mentioned the information being analyzed by the media as a business and marketing method based on consumers' fears that Masan has applied to products such as 3MDCP-free soy sauce, transfat-free instant noodles, coffee made from coffee... followed by fish sauce.

“Maybe if someone uses this trick with fish sauce, it is wrong. This is not a small, individual industry, but a long-standing industry association, so if applied, it will not be successful,” said Mr. Diep.

In response to the information provided by Vinastas, the Phu Quoc Fish Sauce Production Association has also sent a dispatch to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Ministry of Health, etc., requesting a council to re-evaluate the scientific and legal basis of the survey results announced by Vinastas.

Speaking to the press, Mr. Dang Van Chinh, Chief Inspector of the Ministry of Health, said that product quality testing must be carried out according to the correct procedures from sampling to sending for testing for reliable results.

According to Nguyen Thao/bizlive