Dak Lak destroys many facilities using toxic chemicals to produce bean sprouts for sale on the market.

On December 26, the Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police, said that the unit had just dismantled many facilities using toxic chemicals to produce bean sprouts for sale on the market.

The Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police, has decided to prosecute four cases and temporarily detain four suspects for violating food safety regulations.

According to initial information, after a period of persistent monitoring, the police force discovered on cyberspace a group of subjects belonging to the "Southern Bean Sprouts Association" and the "Bean Sprouts Association" with signs of violating food safety and hygiene regulations.

Faced with the above situation, the Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police simultaneously inspected six bean sprout production facilities in Buon Ma Thuot City. Among them, there were two facilities owned by Lam Van Dao, born in 1990, residing in Ea Tu Commune; two facilities owned by Vu Duy Tu, born in 1991; one facility owned by Nguyen Van Quynh, born in 1973, and one facility owned by Nguyen Van Hao, born in 1988, all in Tan Hoa Ward, Buon Ma Thuot City.

Through inspection, the subjects confessed that in the process of producing bean sprouts, they used lime, well water and a colorless liquid, which the group often exchanged slang with each other online as "candy" water.

According to the Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police, the “candy” water is actually the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine, which is not on the list of permitted use in food production and the list of permitted pesticides in Vietnam. This is a cell growth stimulant, which, if introduced into the body, will have adverse effects on human health. Inhalation or long-term skin contact can cause low birth weight, hydrocephalus and birth defects, and ingestion of large amounts can cause death.

However, this group still regularly uses soaking and incubation to make bean sprouts, with the purpose of shortening the bean sprout roots to concentrate nutrients to develop large, plump bean sprout stems, increase weight and have a beautiful appearance.

The subjects mixed 400ml of “candy” water with 1,000 liters of well water, enough to produce about 2,000kg of finished bean sprouts. The subjects all knew that the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine was banned and would be harmful to human health when introduced into the body. Therefore, after each use, the subjects hid the can containing the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine in the toilet, the corner of the warehouse, in the bedroom, or in the basement to avoid detection by the authorities.

During the inspection, the Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police discovered and seized 20,357 kg of bean sprouts that the group had soaked in the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurine, with a selling price of about 400 million VND. In addition, the police seized 37 plastic cans with 135 liters of the above banned active ingredient. If not detected, with 135 liters of this solution, the subjects would have produced and put on the market about 675 tons of finished bean sprouts with a selling price of about 18.7 billion VND.

At the police station, the subjects confessed that in 2024, this group sold about 2,900 tons of bean sprouts soaked in the chemical 6-Benzylaminopurine to the market, an average of about eight to 10 tons per day. One production facility alone signed a contract to sell 350 - 400 kg of bean sprouts per day to a supermarket. On the packaging of these bean sprouts, the subjects pasted labels such as "For everyone's health", "No chemicals", "No stimulants", "No preservatives...

Currently, the Economic Police Department, Dak Lak Provincial Police has issued a decision to prosecute four cases, prosecute and temporarily detain four defendants, Lam Van Dao, Vu Duy Tu, Nguyen Van Quynh, Nguyen Van Hao, for violating food safety regulations. At the same time, the investigation is continuing to expand to comprehensively handle the case.

Source: https://baodaknong.vn/dak-lak-triet-pha-nhieu-co-so-dung-hoa-chat-doc-hai-de-san-xuat-gia-do-ban-ra-thi-truong-238061.html