7 yellow O testing centers approved by China, Vietnamese durian has been exported to China again.
A durian purchasing and packaging facility - Photo: HAI SON
Regarding the difficulty of exporting Vietnamese durian to China because the neighboring country requires a certificate of yellow O quality, according to Tuoi Tre Online's investigation, after 7 Vietnamese testing centers were recognized as qualified by the General Department of Customs of China, shipments of Vietnamese durian that met the required standards were cleared through customs.
Information from forces at the border gate said there was no congestion when clearing durian shipments.
It is known that qualified centers for testing for gold O have the capacity to test about 100 samples/center/day.
Currently, Vietnam is completing procedures to request the EU to recognize 6 more laboratories to meet the testing needs of businesses.
Previously, on January 9, China announced the application of regulations requiring Thai and Vietnamese durian shipments to have additional O-yellow quality inspection certificates, starting from January 10.
At the same time, it is required that laboratories testing for O-yellow substance must be approved by the Chinese side.
This request was made after the other side discovered that a shipment of Thai durian had yellow O residue in late 2024.
On January 9, the Plant Protection Department (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) coordinated with relevant agencies to send China a list of laboratories qualified to test for yellow O to request approval.
Next, on the morning of January 10, an urgent meeting was held between the Plant Protection Department and businesses and localities to announce and disseminate the new regulations from the other side.
It was not until January 17 that China approved the list of 7 Vietnamese laboratories (at the same time as Thailand), so the testing for yellow O could not be conducted before January 17. This means that the export of Vietnamese durian must be temporarily suspended from January 10.
This sudden change has left many businesses unable to adapt, especially when China has not yet approved inspection rooms, causing difficulties in exporting durian.
Many containers of durian were forced to turn around to be frozen or sold domestically to reduce losses. It is estimated that each durian container is worth up to 3 billion VND, leading to huge losses for businesses.
According to an expert in the plant protection industry, yellow O is a dangerous substance to human health, so according to international practice, the importing country has every basis to apply emergency measures in this case.
"The regulation to check for yellow O substance is applied by the importing country as an emergency measure to protect consumer health, especially after the other side discovered this substance in shipments of durian from Thailand. This is completely within the authority of the importing country because this is a major threat to food safety," the expert told Tuoi Tre Online.
According to medical experts, gold O, also known as Auramine O, its chemical name is Diarylmethane. This substance contains a fluorescent form and gold-plated particles that are easily soluble in water and alcohol.
This substance is only used in industry, for dyeing fabrics, paper, or for painting walls, but is not allowed to be used in food or as an additive in raw materials.
Yellow O is toxic to living organisms in general and has been classified by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as a group 3 carcinogen, meaning it has a high potential to cause cancer.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/co-giay-kiem-nghiem-chat-vang-o-tu-viet-nam-sau-rieng-lai-thong-duong-sang-trung-quoc-20250124125410056.htm
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