Ho Chi Minh City verifies many suspected counterfeit products that were discarded

(Dan Tri) - People discovered hundreds of boxes of medicine and dietary supplements with intact packaging and printed in foreign languages ​​dumped in an empty lot in Binh Chanh, Ho Chi Minh City.

On June 6, social media went viral with a series of images and clips of hundreds of new boxes of medicine and functional foods printed in foreign languages ​​that were thrown away, suspected to be counterfeit or of unknown origin. Some of these products were supplements for children.

Many children's products were found abandoned in vacant lots (Photo: Contributor).

In less than an hour, this information received thousands of interactions and angry comments from people.

“Too terrible”, “Need to invite authorities to handle it immediately” are the common reactions of many people under the post. Some people also said that they and their relatives and children bought and used the drugs in it.

A representative of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health said that they have received information about the incident and are working with other units to clarify the matter. The Department of Health has also forwarded information about the incident to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety and the Economic Police Department, Ho Chi Minh City Police for further clarification.

Regarding the process of destroying functional foods, Article 17 of Circular 43/2014/TT-BYT stipulates that organizations and individuals engaged in production and business are responsible for handling unsafe functional foods without specific instructions on how to handle them. In addition, there are no other regulations guiding this issue.

Therefore, in this case, you should contact the local Department of Health for specific instructions and answers to the problem.

For expired products that have been released to the market, Article 18 of the Circular stipulates that it is mandatory to trace the origin at the final packaging location and the raw material supplier. Production and business establishments are responsible for providing transparent information when being inspected.

In addition, all functional foods, even those that support disease treatment, must clearly state the words "this product is not a medicine and does not have the effect of replacing medicine" on the product label and in the advertisement. This is a mandatory regulation to avoid misleading consumers.

As reported by Dan Tri , Phong Phu Commune Police (Binh Chanh District) coordinated with relevant units to blockade the land next to Nguyen Van Linh Avenue, where tens of thousands of discarded functional food boxes were discovered.

Local police are blocking off the scene (Photo: Hoang Huong).

Mr. Truong Van Ben (50 years old, living in Phong Phu commune) said that about a month ago, when passing by the land along Nguyen Van Linh avenue, he saw a large amount of functional foods dumped in a pile.

In the following days, some scrap collectors came to dump the medicine to get paper and plastic bottles to sell. About a week ago, he continued to discover a large amount of functional foods thrown away in the area.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/suc-khoe/tphcm-xac-minh-nhieu-san-pham-nghi-hang-gia-bi-vut-bo-20250606135140401.htm