Be careful not to buy fake food on TikTok

TikTok is increasingly becoming a popular shopping platform with consumers thanks to its engaging product videos, low prices and home delivery.

It's Easy to Buy Fake Food on TikTok

Ms. Tran Thi Minh, residing in Vinh city, Nghe An , shared her unhappy experience when buying 4 bottles of fish sauce, a famous local specialty promoted on TikTok, for more than 200,000 VND.

“It looked appealing on the video , and there were KOLs recommending it, so I trusted it. But when I brought it home and opened it, the smell was so bad that I couldn’t eat it, so I had to throw it in the trash,” Ms. Minh said indignantly.

She also shared some unsatisfactory experiences when buying products sold on TikTok, which often have beautiful designs and fast delivery, but the actual quality is a big question mark. “Buying online now is really worrying,” Ms. Minh emphasized.

Fake MSG seized by authorities. Photo: PV

Ms. Nguyen Thi Mui, a resident of Do Luong district, said: "Soybean flour and MSG are familiar spices in many families, but counterfeiting has recently appeared. My family once mistakenly bought fake MSG that was recently seized by authorities. This really directly threatens the health of consumers. Now it is difficult for us to know which products are genuine and to feel secure when buying and using them."

According to reports in the press and opinions from authorities, fake MSG is often mixed with substances of unknown origin, not tested for food safety, can cause many symptoms such as headaches, nausea, allergies and in the long term also has the potential to affect liver and kidney function.

Many fake milk brands have been exposed recently. Photo: PV

On social media platforms, a series of groups specializing in the trading of frozen foods such as pork, beef, chicken, seafood, fish balls, etc. are operating vigorously with hundreds of thousands of members. Some prominent groups include "Frozen Food Warehouse", "Frozen Wholesale Market", "Frozen Pork"... with bustling transactions taking place every day.

Products on Fanpage and TikTok are sold at quite cheap prices, suitable for general consumer demand. Specifically, whole salted chicken costs from 94,000 to 102,000 VND/chicken depending on quantity, chicken wings in the middle are only 78,000 VND/kg, packaged young chicken eggs range from 62,000 to 70,000 VND/kg... In addition, many other items are also offered at competitive prices such as ribs from 30,000 to 32,000 VND/kg, pork belly from 118,000 to 120,000 VND/kg.

Functional foods are advertised to help balance body shape. Photo: PV

However, behind this excitement are concerns about product quality, because most transactions take place online, based on personal trust, without inspection, and it is very difficult to control the origin and storage conditions of food.

Notably, some products are also promoted through KOLs (influencers) with millions of followers, creating a false image of prestige and easily misleading consumers about the real quality. This tactic was used in the recent fake milk scandal that caused a stir in public opinion. These products pose many potential risks to the health of users.

Not only selling via livestream, many stalls also openly advertise counterfeit products. Sellers often intentionally obscure brand logos, making it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake goods. These sophisticated tricks have caused the number of stalls to "sprout like mushrooms", with hundreds of thousands of poor quality products sold every day. Meanwhile, consumers are constantly caught in the "matrix" of TikTok Shop, where real and fake are mixed together, making it difficult to distinguish.

In addition, the promotional trick of “shocking discounts” is also a factor that makes buyers easily become victims. Consumers also find it difficult to ask sellers to provide full information about the origin, invoices, and documents of the product.

Chicken eggs are also sold on TikTok. Photo: PV

Food of unknown origin discovered in large quantities

On April 26, Market Management Team No. 3 under the Nghe An Market Management Department discovered and destroyed nearly 1 ton of contaminated food, including ham and frozen chicken of unknown origin, without valid invoices or documents. The total amount of administrative fines was nearly 60 million VND.

Specifically, at the HTL business household (Dong Vinh ward), the authorities discovered 215 kg of ham of unknown origin, not ensuring food safety.

Next, Market Management Team No. 3 suddenly inspected the LTD business household located at Pham Hong Thai Street, Vinh Tan Ward, Vinh City, Nghe An Province.

Through inspection, it was discovered that the business household was trading 600 kg of frozen chicken products of unknown origin, without legal invoices and documents, and not ensuring food safety.

"Chicken breast is sold on TikTok with attractive advertisements about its deliciousness and quality. Photo: PV."

Not only stopping at processed foods, recently authorities have also discovered a number of cases of counterfeit goods such as cooking oil and MSG, raising great concerns in the community.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Phong - Deputy Head of Nghe An Market Management Department said that monitoring violations on social networks is very difficult. Many personal sales accounts use the trick of anonymity, frequently changing page names, erasing traces or reappearing under other names to circumvent the law, causing great obstacles for the authorities in detecting and handling violations.

In Nghe An, since the beginning of 2025, the provincial Market Management Department has coordinated with relevant units to detect and handle at least two cases of trading food of unknown origin via social networks, seizing hundreds of kilograms of violating products.

Nghe An Market Management Force destroys chickens of unknown origin. Photo: PV

TikTok Shop management needs to be tightened to prevent counterfeit and fake goods

Faced with the "hot" development of TikTok Shop and its consequences, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC), the agency managing this social networking platform and e-commerce platform, has repeatedly warned and pointed out TikTok's violations in Vietnam.

Accordingly, TikTok Vietnam has not effectively implemented measures to control content and business activities, allowing the widespread sale of counterfeit goods, fake goods, and functional foods of unknown origin. This not only violates the law but also creates a favorable environment for fake news to spread, causing economic damage and social instability.

The inspection results from the interdisciplinary team showed that TikTok Shop had not fully disclosed information about the application owner on the homepage, and did not fully store seller information upon registration.

Authorities destroy ham of unknown origin. Photo: PV

In response to these violations, the inspection team recommended that the Ministry of Industry and Trade take measures and request TikTok to rectify and improve its cross-border e-commerce service provision activities in Vietnam. TikTok Shop was also required to remove products on the list of prohibited products, and to issue warnings or suspend service provision to organizations and individuals violating the regulations, depending on the severity.

Although authorities have taken strong actions, the situation of counterfeit goods, fake goods, and products of unknown origin on TikTokShop has not been thoroughly controlled.

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Source: https://baonghean.vn/can-trong-keo-mua-nham-thuc-pham-gia-tren-tiktok-10296899.html