More worryingly, these dangerous chemicals, which pose a risk to people's health, are being openly sold on e-commerce platforms and social networks, raising an urgent need to tighten management...
Officers of the Hanoi Food Safety and Hygiene Department conduct rapid quality testing of vermicelli samples on the market.
Alarming situation
In just the past two months, authorities have continuously discovered a series of cases of bean sprouts being produced with banned substances. Most recently, at the end of May 2025, in Lao Cai province, authorities inspected and discovered two production facilities using the chemical 6-Benzylaminopurine (6-BAP), which is banned from use in food processing, to produce hundreds of tons of bean sprouts for the market.
Previously, in April 2025, Nghe An Provincial Police prosecuted and temporarily detained four subjects for producing up to 3,500 tons of bean sprouts soaked in similar toxic chemicals. In Dak Lak Province, 6 establishments were also handled for this behavior.
The common point of the above cases is the use of 6-BAP, a chemical commonly used in agriculture to stimulate growth but banned in food due to the risk of harm to human health.
According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen, Director of the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital), using bean sprouts soaked in the chemical 6-BAP is extremely dangerous. Unlike pesticides that have a quarantine period before harvest, bean sprouts are soaked in chemicals and sold after only 24 hours. Consumers eat them almost immediately, causing the poison to penetrate directly into the body, causing the risk of acute poisoning and long-term damage to cells.
What is alarming is that banned chemicals such as 6-BAP, borax, or toxic chemicals of unknown origin used to bleach, make food crispy, prevent mold... are still being sold openly on e-commerce platforms and social networks.
According to a survey by a reporter from Hanoi Moi Newspaper, the chemical 6-BAP is being sold on the e-commerce platform Tiki for 1.1 million VND for each 25g bottle. Banned substances used in food such as borax are also being sold widely on the e-commerce platforms Shopee and Lazada for 50,000-100,000 VND/kg. There are even chemicals that are advertised as being effective in treating water sources, bleaching fabrics, and are also introduced as helping food stay white, beautiful, and slow to spoil...
Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, frankly stated that recently, the buying and selling of chemicals, even toxic substances such as cyanide and acid, has been happening easily. Many chemicals are imported for this purpose, but in reality, when put on the market, they serve other purposes. Therefore, there must be clear sanctions for sellers and users who use them for the wrong purposes. Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan cited the Salbutamol case that once caused a stir in public opinion. This is a pharmaceutical substance used in some respiratory medications but in very small quantities. Meanwhile, the actual amount of this substance imported into the country increased dozens, hundreds of times without being controlled. As a result, the authorities later discovered that Salbutamol was used as a lean meat enhancer in livestock farming.
There must be strong laws and strict enforcement.
Currently, chemical management in Vietnam still has many shortcomings. A chemical can be used in many different fields, managed by many ministries, leading to overlapping and inconsistent situations. Enterprises can dishonestly declare the purpose of use to choose a more open mechanism.
At the 46th session of the National Assembly Standing Committee recently, many delegates spoke out strongly about the need to tighten management of chemical business activities, assigning a single management agency through giving comments on the draft Law on Chemicals (amended).
To strengthen the management of toxic chemicals and control risks of chemical safety and security, the draft law has been amended to regulate the management of chemicals throughout their entire life cycle, from the time they are created or introduced into Vietnam, with strictness and consistency for each chemical category.
The draft also strengthens inspection measures for the import of chemicals requiring special control and the storage service of chemicals requiring special control. On that basis, the draft adds regulations on the application of technology in controlling the purchase and sale of these chemicals. In addition, the draft proposes to add regulations that organizations and individuals using chemicals requiring special control must register the purpose and need to use the chemicals on the database to minimize the misuse of chemicals...
The draft Law on Chemicals (amended) is expected to patch a series of “fatal loopholes” in chemical management. Chemical management is no longer an internal matter of the Industry and Trade, Health or Agriculture sectors, but a public health security issue that needs to be a national priority. There needs to be strong laws, strict enforcement and clear responsibilities to manage and control chemical production and trading activities.
Source: https://baotuyenquang.com.vn/siet-kiem-soat-hoa-chat-phu-phep-thuc-pham-213163.html
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