Asia Times: Lack of food standards leaves Vietnam with a bad taste



	January 29, 2000	atimes.com

Southeast Asia

Lack of food standards leaves Vietnam with a bad taste
By Nguyen Nam Phuong

HANOI - Vietnamese cuisine rates several stars among gourmets around the world, but these days the Vietnamese themselves are getting a bit wary of eating even their best-loved dishes.

In the last several months, food scares ranging from poor hygiene to unsafe chemicals added to dishes or used to preserve the ingredients have swept the country.

A few weeks ago, the public was in an uproar following revelations that seven out of 10 rice noodle factories in the capital, Hanoi, were putting formaldehyde in their products. A similar investigation in Ho Chi Minh City found six out of nine noodle manufacturers doing the same thing.

International conventions ban formaldehyde in food as it is believed to accumulate in the body and cause liver, nerve and kidney damage. Explanations for the use of the chemical in pho (rice noodles) ranged from preservation, to giving the noodles an appealing sheen and making them chewier.

The news that manufacturers were churning out tonnes of formaldehyde-laced noodles made even the most dedicated pho eaters stay away from their favorite dish, which is usually served in a broth with chicken or beef and a variety of herbs.

The government has since announced that all noodle producers will be required to obtain licenses. Those that insist on operating illegally will be punished. Although consumers have lauded the government action, some say the move is yet another knee-jerk reaction to a recurring problem that needs a comprehensive solution. Indeed, they say, there are simply no food safety standards and regulations that could prevent Vietnamese food from becoming a health risk.

According to the Food Safety Control Bureau, there were 295 food poisoning cases reported last year involving 6,953 victims, of whom 65 died. This was an increase from the previous year's figures of 270 cases with 6,700 victims and 41 deaths. Nearly 40 percent of the cases last year were put down to bacteria, while more than 17 percent were the result of chemicals used for food preservation. Natural poisons such as those found in certain mushrooms and fish accounted for another 17 percent.

Most of the country's food mishaps have occurred at collective cooking places such as in factories, schools or weddings. In one case last September, 600 workers at a factory in southern Vietnam producing Nike shoes were taken to hospital. They were found to have eaten a kind of poisonous mushroom in a vegetarian meal.

But there have also been food scares involving potentially bigger populations. In November, the health of Ho Chi Minh City's children was the cause of concern when almost all of the 42 ice- cream producers in the city were deemed unhygienic. The Ho Chi Minh City Nutrition Center revealed that 99 percent of ice cream samples taken had ''sanitation problems''.

The producers, who had a combined production capacity of 10 tonnes a day, were found to be using unacceptably high levels of saccharine and other additives. Some even used unsterilized milk. Almost half of the ice-cream makers had no quality registration while others had no production licenses.

Observers have also pointed out that the latest directive aimed at the makers of pho was something that should have been done a long time ago. After all, pho is a Vietnamese staple enjoyed by millions. But pho devotees would probably have continued eating noodles with formaldehyde, had not someone tipped off authorities about a strange odour wafting from a rice noodle factory here in Hanoi.

As it is, many pho enthusiasts are taking advantage of the current focus on food. In between slurps, 24-year-old Toan said: ''This is the best time to eat it. The authorities are paying attention to food safety, particularly pho. If you eat it later, it may not be safe because they may have stopped checking.''

Remarked Thuan, a shopper in one of Hanoi's markets: ''Food quality inspectors seem irresponsible in checking food in the market. Only when something happens will they begin looking at it.''

Meat and other produce are generally left uncovered in street markets where they gather dust and attract flies. Indeed, the Department of Food and Safety Control says that that last year, 30 to 35 percent of butcher shops did not have licenses. The excessive use of pesticides and herbicides by farmers has also come under fire. In 1999 alone, some 42,000 tonnes of pesticides were estimated to have been used on farm produce.

These concerns about street produce have been prompting consumers to turn to recently opened supermarkets - but the sight of out-of-date goods on many supermarket shelves has done little to boost their confidence.

The country's low standards of food production hurt not only public health, but are seen as holding back a crucial export sector. In little over a decade, the process of doi moi (economic opening) has seen Vietnam go from an impoverished importer of food to a major exporter. The export value of seafood - now Vietnam's fifth largest hard-currency earner - has shot up from $11 million in 1980 to last year's $858 million.

But according to the Ministry of Fisheries, two-thirds of its fishery production processing plants still fail to meet international food safety requirements, limiting the amount of produce going to foreign markets, particularly the United States and European Union.

Other processed-food manufacturers see meeting International Standard Organization criteria as the key to success. Many producers polled by the Vietnam News Agency claimed that low labor and material costs allowed them to offer processed food at up to 10 percent cheaper than regional competitors.

(Inter Press Service)

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