Intellasia News Services -- Dodgy mooncake producers detected in southern hub

Dodgy mooncake producers detected in southern hub
Source: 26-AUG-2008 Intellasia | Thanhniennews
Aug 26, 2008 - 7:00:00 AM
Although the Full Moon Festival is still a month away, mooncakes are on sale all over HCM City. But the quality of the cakes is a cause for concern.

Inspections by the municipal Department of Health early this week found that food safety and hygiene regulations were not met at some mooncake factories.

The manufacturing area of Hy Lam Mon Cake Enterprise, located on Bach Dang Street in Binh Thanh District, was messy with production lines not following the regulated one-way flow of work, according to an inspection Tuesday.

Labourers sat in disorder making cake cores, baking and wrapping.

Ingredients for production, such as salted egg yolks and butter, were not covered to deter insects and prevent contamination. Inspectors also found expired food colour additives.

In addition, the owner of the unit failed to show health certificates of the production workers. Many workers had long fingernails, making the production processes unhygienic.

The inspection team also found similar violations at the Dong Hung Yen and Dong Ky manufacturing plants in District 6. Workers in Dong Hung Yen made cake cores on the floor. Toilets were located in the production areas at both factories. Health officials also detected colour additives of unknown origins at the two plants.

In another inspection Thursday, the task force found three District 11 manufacturers in violation of the aforementioned regulations.

The dodgy producers included Tan Lac Vien, which makes Phuoc Loc mooncakes, as well as the Bat Tien Dong Khanh and Thuan Phat factories.

Head of the Vietnam Food Administration Tran Dang said his agency would cooperate with relevant authorities to inspect mooncake producers in major cities like Hanoi and HCM City.

The inspections would run through the end of the mid-Autumn festival next month, he said.

Ineffective deterrents

Dr Truong Thi Thuy Mai, an inspection specialist from the department, said mooncakes were considered a high-risk food because they contained ingredients that spoiled easily.

But Mai said local authorities did not have enough inspectors.

Food-safety standards in mooncake production usually dropped in the leadup to the annual festival, she said, adding that manufacturers focused on profits ahead of food safety.

According to Dr Nguyen Minh Hung, the department's Chief Inspector, the highest penalty for companies found in breach of food safety standards is 30 million dong (US$1,813), the equivalent of about 100 mooncake boxes of four cakes each.

HCM City currently has some 200 mooncake manufacturing units.

The Mid-Autumn Festival marks the harvest in Vietnam, China and other Asian countries.

It is held on the 15th day of the eighth month of the lunar calendar. The moon is at its brightest at this time of the year. This year, the festival falls on September 14.