The Black Market of Tainted Vietnamese Meat

VIETNAM – The Vietnamese news agency, Vietnam Bridge, has reported that Low quality meat, preserved by toxic chemicals, are slipping through the border province of Lang Son.
calendar icon 10 January 2008
clock icon 3 minute read

These are second-grade products, which Chinese people never eat, but are used in delicious cuisine at restaurants in Vietnam. Grilled chicken legs, boiled pig entrails and grilled goat brisket are now most popular amongst Hanoians.

These things are of low quality and worse, preserved by toxic substances. A trader said tainted chicken legs and entrails are submerged in various chemicals to make them look fresh. Chefs at restaurants only need to mix these things with spices to make them tasty.

Second-grade chickens, which are not quarantined, are also illegally imported through the border province of Lang Son. This kind of chicken is very cheap, around VND25,000-30,000kg and sold for VND55-60,000 at markets.

Bai Gianh in Lang Son is familiar to all chicken and entrails smugglers. Nearly 1km from the Huu Nghi border-gate, Bai Gianh is where porters convene to enter China and take chickens and entrails at night.

Though the local police agency has set checkpoints to prevent the inflow of Chinese animal products, tons are still being sold at markets each day. And at market, nobody can distinguish between these toxic, tainted products and fresh ones.

In 2007, the trafficking policy agency seized 170 tons of smuggled chickens, entrails and over 22,000 living chickens and nearly 60,000 eggs. A senior policeman said this is an unremarkable volume because traffic policemen only inspect suspicious trucks and these products can be transported by motorbikes, coaches, etc.

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