Ministry of Industry and Trade speaks out about the recently discovered fake milk case

Market management forces regularly inspect and handle violating milk products on the market. Photo: T. Linh

Regarding the large-scale fake milk production line that was recently dismantled by the Ministry of Public Security at Rance Pharma International Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and Hacofood Group Nutrition Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company, Mr. Tran Huu Linh, Director of the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development (Ministry of Industry and Trade) discussed this issue.

- Could you please tell us about the management and licensing of some products that Rance Pharma Company and Hacofood Group Company violated in the past?

- Pursuant to Decree No. 15/2018/ND-CP dated February 2, 2018 of the Government detailing the implementation of a number of articles of the Law on Food Safety, the state management authority over dairy products is clearly defined according to each product group and specialized agency.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is responsible for managing the group of regular processed milk products, excluding products supplemented with micronutrients, functional foods, or pharmaceuticals with special nutritional ingredients. These products are currently managed by the Ministry of Health.

Besides, the Ministry of Industry and Trade does not have the authority to grant business registration certificates to enterprises.

The establishment and registration of business operations are carried out by the Department of Planning and Investment of provinces and cities in accordance with the provisions of the Law on Enterprises.

Therefore, the Ministry of Industry and Trade does not license and directly manage the products produced and traded by Rance Pharma Company and Hacofood Group Company.

According to current regulations, the Ministry of Industry and Trade can only inspect these enterprises when it detects signs of violations within the scope of assigned functions and tasks.

- In the past 4 years, how has the Ministry of Industry and Trade (directly the former General Department of Market Management) inspected and controlled the production and supply of dairy products to the market? What were the inspection results?

- Over the past 4 years, the Market Management force has always monitored, supervised and coordinated with agencies to inspect and control the commodity market in general, including dairy products and functional foods in particular.

Because the above two enterprises are not under the specialized management authority of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is not allowed to conduct specialized inspections, periodic checks or post-inspections on the milk production and supply activities of these two enterprises.

In 4 years (2021 - 2024), related to dairy products, the market management force nationwide inspected and handled 783 cases; the fine amount was more than 2.2 billion VND; the quantity of violating goods was 58,187 boxes, 451 cartons, 20,394 bottles/cans.

In addition, in 2024, the Hanoi Market Management Department (now the Hanoi Market Management Sub-Department) transferred 2 cases to the investigation agency.

- So why do major violations still occur, like the recent fake milk scandal?

- The fact that some businesses have many product lines distributed widely but are not detected for violations for a long time may stem from a number of reasons.

That is, the enterprise carries out all the procedures and business documents in accordance with the law to cover up the violating products. In reality, the violation is only discovered when the product is tested.

Moreover, The company does not distribute through supermarket systems, official agents or controlled retail chains, but mainly consumes products directly to consumers, blending and disguising itself in specialized seminars, hospitals and clinics.

Some businesses even hire celebrities to advertise and sell products directly on social networks such as YouTube, Facebook, Zalo... to avoid and make it difficult for authorities to monitor and inspect.

- In your opinion, what solutions are needed to strengthen management of milk and food products, and to prevent and thoroughly handle violations?

- From the above incident, the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development will closely direct local Market Management Sub-Departments to strengthen inspection and supervision of the circulation and distribution of dairy products, especially at small retail channels, unofficial agents, e-commerce platforms and social networks, where there are many potential risks of counterfeit goods, goods of unknown origin, and poor quality goods.

In parallel with field inspections, the Department of Domestic Market Management and Development will continue to collect feedback from consumers, and coordinate with the health and agriculture sectors to establish effective solutions to prevent the circulation of fake milk and milk of poor quality on the market.

Through this process, the Ministry of Industry and Trade is reviewing and comprehensively evaluating the management of milk circulation, focusing on identifying loopholes after the distribution stage; proposing to perfect the inter-sectoral coordination mechanism, enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of inspection and handling of commercial fraud, false advertising, and food safety violations.

The goal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade is to protect consumer rights, ensure market stability and tighten control over goods that directly affect public health.

-Thank you very much!

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/bo-cong-thuong-len-tieng-ve-vu-lam-sua-gia-vua-bi-phat-hien-698927.html