Recently, the types of contaminated food smuggled into the domestic market are not only frozen animal organs treated with chemical preservatives, but the tactics of unscrupulous traders have changed. Whole cattle are now being raised by foreigners under the contract of Vietnamese individuals in border areas and then transported to the domestic market for sale at cheap prices.
Consumers need to be wary of cheap, unverified beef products being widely advertised on social media.
In traditional markets, good quality beef shank currently costs over 200,000 VND/kg, but on social media, the price is only 100,000 VND/kg, causing many people to wonder and assume it is imported frozen beef.
According to some sources, the recent low prices of fresh or dried buffalo and beef are due to a large quantity of inexpensive beef cattle being raised in neighboring countries such as Thailand and Laos on order from Vietnamese traders.
These beef cattle are gathered in border areas from Gia Lai province to Quang Binh province. It's unclear how thousands of cattle manage to pass through border crossings daily, transported to southern provinces and Phu Xuyen district ( Hanoi ) for slaughter and then distributed to neighboring areas...
Mr. T.D.S, from Dong Xuan ward (Phuc Yen) - a person who specializes in trading dried goods through unofficial channels in border areas - said: "We traders often call this type of cattle 'Sal' cattle, which are fattened using three basic growth-enhancing, lean meat-enhancing, and coloring agents that are banned in livestock farming: Salbutamol, Vat Yellow, and Cysteamine."
However, Salbutamol is the most preferred because it gives the slaughtered beef an attractive deep red color, even more appealing than the meat from grass-fed cattle raised in Vietnam. These cattle, imported and raised to a weight of 200-250 kg/animal, will increase to 500-550 kg/animal after nearly 3 months of fattening with Salbutamol.
At that time, the salbutamol content in each cow would increase to 100 times the permitted standard. By the time of sale, unscrupulous traders would use an intermediary company to handle temporary import and re-export procedures… Using this method, the "Sal" cows would be cleared through customs with valid documents, including quarantine certificates.
Immediately, large numbers of "Sal" cattle were transported day and night to the collection point for slaughter before they fell ill, and then distributed to various outlets. When the meat was put on display, many people couldn't distinguish between clean and contaminated beef. Only when cooked did it turn pale white, the meat was very bland, mushy, watery, and lacked the smell of beef.
These are also the basic characteristics to identify "Sal" beef. When consumers notice these characteristics, they shouldn't risk their health by being stingy. Many people also mistake it for sow pork; if that's the case, it's better, but sow pork, depending on the type, can cost almost twice as much on the market."
Besides the aforementioned "Sal" beef being sold illegally, a large quantity of Indian buffalo meat has also appeared on the market. This answers the public's long-standing question of where all this fresh buffalo meat has come from at such a high price, especially since Vietnam in general, and Vinh Phuc in particular, still lacks a concentrated buffalo farming area.
Currently, this type of buffalo meat is being widely advertised on social media at attractive prices. According to our research, this is Murrah dairy buffalo, which is culled when it can no longer produce milk.
Since buffalo milk accounts for 35% of India's total milk production, the amount of banned substances in raising this type of livestock is strictly controlled. Therefore, with Indian buffalo meat imported into the domestic market, consumers can still feel more secure than with "Sal" beef.
This breed of buffalo is usually twice the size of the native breed. Because Indian people don't eat this meat, nearly 10 years ago it was exported to Vietnam in large quantities in frozen form. Each box contains 20-25 kg and is labeled BuffaloIndian. Currently, traders can import whole animals for slaughter.
Mr. Duong Quoc Dat, from Tich Son ward (Vinh Yen), said: Indian buffalo meat is not as good as domestic buffalo meat. However, this type of meat has the exact same color as beef and is more affordable. Because of the price and color, some restaurants are now using tricks to pass off Indian buffalo meat as beef.
According to research, genuine buffalo meat has a coarse, long fiber and white fat veins, while beef has a short, fine fiber and yellow fat veins. To avoid buying fake beef, consumers should feel the meat to see if it's sticky or cold to the touch, and even smell it. If it doesn't have the characteristic beef smell, it's definitely fake.
Mr. Truong Cong Thang, Deputy Head of the Provincial Department of Livestock and Veterinary Medicine, said: The unit has recently received information about the smuggling of beef from across the border. In the Vinh Phuc market, the department has not yet received any complaints from the public regarding the quantity of beef containing banned substances used in livestock farming.
Currently, the local agency is conducting inspections and reviews of beef stalls in traditional markets throughout the province to promptly detect and strictly handle violations according to regulations. The biggest difficulty for the agency at present is that those involved in selling this product often do so on social media platforms, making inspection and enforcement efforts challenging. For now, the agency advises people to be cautious about this type of beef.
With a large quantity of buffalo and beef being imported into the country through both official and unofficial channels, if this situation is not controlled and prevented, the domestic livestock industry in general, and that of the province in particular, will be affected and face many difficulties.
In reality, this has been happening among livestock farmers in the area: their cattle are of sufficient weight and ready for slaughter, but they struggle to find markets for them. Meanwhile, trucks carrying smuggled cattle continue to openly enter the country. This will be a challenge for the livestock industry and state management agencies in putting an end to this situation.
Text and photos: Thanh An
Source
Comment (0)