Tighten inspection of fake milk and functional foods

Market Management forces inspect functional food products at a business establishment in Thai Nguyen City.

Immediately after many cases related to fake products such as medicine, milk, and functional foods were continuously discovered and handled by functional forces across the country, the Market Management Force (QLTT) of Thai Nguyen province coordinated with functional agencies to inspect a number of milk and functional food business locations in the province.

In April 2025 alone, the provincial Market Management Department discovered and handled 5 violations related to milk products with more than 70 boxes of powdered milk of unknown origin, without invoices or documents proving legality, packaging written in foreign languages ​​but without Vietnamese sub-labels as prescribed. The Department imposed administrative fines totaling 31 million VND; the value of goods that had to be destroyed was 41.5 million VND.

In addition, the provincial Market Management Department also inspected and handled a case related to functional foods, seizing 300 kidney tonic packages. All of them were of unknown origin, advertised on social networks and sold to consumers at prices many times higher than their actual value. The Department fined this facility 12 million VND, the value of the goods that had to be destroyed was 18 million VND...

“Currently, taking advantage of people’s need for health care and immune enhancement after the epidemic, many subjects have mixed fake and poor quality goods into the market. In particular, milk for children and functional foods to support the elderly are the groups of goods with the highest risk of being counterfeited,” said the owner of a business store in Phan Dinh Phung Ward (Thai Nguyen City).

The situation of smuggling, counterfeiting, intellectual property and food safety violations remains complicated, posing many challenges to market management.

Since the beginning of the year, the Market Management Force of Thai Nguyen province has inspected and detected 176 violations, thereby imposing administrative fines with a total amount of nearly 2 billion VND.

Of these, 37 cases involved smuggling; 72 cases involved counterfeit goods and intellectual property rights infringement; 15 cases involved food safety; 15 cases involved e-commerce and 27 cases involved non-compliance with regulations on the origin of goods.

Along with the fines, the authorities have forced the destruction of hundreds of products of unknown origin and of poor quality - demonstrating their determination to protect consumer rights and build a healthy business environment.

“We have increased inspections at both traditional markets and online sales establishments and warehouses on e-commerce platforms. There have been cases where people rented houses to gather counterfeit goods and then sold them via Facebook and Zalo, making it difficult to detect. However, with professional measures, the Market Management force is determined to get to the root of the problem,” affirmed Mr. Nguyen Huu Loi, Deputy Head of the Provincial Market Management Department.

Not only stopping at handling violations, the provincial Market Management force also focuses on propaganda work to raise people's awareness of this issue - a key factor in preventing counterfeit goods early and from afar.

Mr. Nguyen Huu Loi added: During the Month of Action for Food Safety (April and May 2025), Market Management Teams will strengthen coordination with communes and wards to organize many communication sessions at markets and residential areas, instructing people on how to distinguish between real and fake milk, reputable functional foods and smuggled goods.

Fake milk and fake functional foods not only cause economic damage but also pose serious risks to consumers' health, especially children, the elderly and the sick.

To completely prevent this problem, in addition to the drastic handling of the authorities, it is necessary to have the cooperation of legitimate businesses in denouncing commercial fraud; at the same time, each consumer needs to be alert, not chasing after cheap - beautiful - convenient advertising at the expense of health.

“Be a smart consumer. When discovering goods suspected to be fake, people can call the hotline of the Thai Nguyen Provincial Market Management Department at 0208.3855.803 to receive information and handle it promptly,” emphasized Mr. Nguyen Huu Loi, Deputy Head of the Provincial Market Management Department.

According to the Market Management Department of Thai Nguyen province, to identify fake milk and functional foods, consumers should note:

🔸 Check the label: Genuine products always have full Vietnamese sub-labels, showing the importer, ingredients, uses, and dosage. Counterfeit products often have blurred text, misspellings, and no clear origin.

🔸 View QR code or barcode: Genuine products can be scanned to trace their origin on the phone. However, some counterfeit products also print fake codes, so you cannot rely solely on the QR code.

🔸 The selling price is too cheap or too high: If the product is abnormally priced or too cheap compared to the market, be careful because this is a sign of fake or poor quality goods.

🔸 Should buy at reputable stores: Should not buy through livestream with unknown seller, or websites without specific address.

 

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/xa-hoi/202505/siet-chat-kiem-tra-sua-thuc-pham-chuc-nang-gia-ae0131e/