Loopholes for fake milk to "sneak" into hospitals

Warehouse in fake milk ring discovered in Hanoi

After the information that the Ministry of Public Security's Investigation Police Agency had dismantled a fake milk production, trading and consumption ring, the 108 Military Central Hospital (Hanoi) checked the milk products for patients. The results discovered that Hofumil Gold Plus milk supplied to the hospital belonged to the product list of a company in the above ring.

Bac Kan General Hospital also issued a notice to temporarily stop providing Hapomil milk consultation from Rance Pharma International Pharmaceutical Company - a company involved in the fake milk production chain. Hospitals have recalled the product, contacted patients to advise them to stop using it, provided instructions on returning the product, and committed to accompanying patients to request the supplier to refund their money and protect patients' rights.

Dr. Luu Ngan Tam and a seriously ill patient receiving nutritional treatment at Cho Ray Hospital. Photo: Minh Khue

According to Dr. Luu Ngan Tam, Head of the Department of Nutrition, Cho Ray Hospital, President of the Vietnam Association of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition, clinical nutrition is a very important part, contributing to increasing the effectiveness of treatment for patients. In Vietnam, therapeutic nutrition complies with international recommendations and guidelines from the Ministry of Health.

During treatment, in addition to appropriate meals, patients with malnutrition or at risk of malnutrition but poor appetite and significant weight loss will be supplemented with appropriate enteral nutrition products. These products (including milk) must undergo a strict bidding process, similar to bidding for drugs. Nutritional products in hospital pharmacies must also comply with this regulation.

According to Dr. Luu Ngan Tam, the first “barrier” for nutritional products to access the healthcare system is professional advice from the head of the nutrition department, including checking the domestic and international reputation of the manufacturing company, whether the nutritional formula follows standard recommendations on clinical nutrition or not. Then, review the quality registration documents and implement bidding regulations. The more thorough the initial inspection, the lower the risk of poor quality products entering the hospital.

However, Dr. Luu Ngan Tam also said that technical barriers help reduce risks but cannot be completely avoided. In practice, a major danger that has existed for a long time is that businesses can copy the formula of a reputable brand, put it in the product registration file, then announce it and participate in bidding. If the file and formula of the "fake" product are exactly the same as the reputable product but bid lower, it can still win the bid.

“That is a loophole beyond the control of the hospital because the hospital does not have the function to inspect whether the product is in accordance with the announced formula or not. In fact, current regulations allow many foods to be self-declared, without pre-inspection, and can still be circulated. Suppose the post-inspection is not effective, it will be very unsafe for users. And so, the hospital can also be a victim,” analyzed Dr. Luu Ngan Tam.

On April 18, the Ministry of Industry and Trade issued an urgent dispatch to the People's Committees of provinces and centrally-run cities and functional units in localities requesting inspection and control of the market, especially dairy products, medicines and health protection foods, in the face of the increasing situation of counterfeit goods and public outrage.

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Fake milk products announced in Hanoi are mainly for children

On April 18, the Hanoi Food Safety and Hygiene Department (Hanoi Department of Health) informed about the initial results of the inspection of fake milk powder products of Rance Pharma International Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and Hacofood Group Nutrition Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company that were recently discovered by the police.

Accordingly, among the 573 types of fake milk discovered by the police, after checking, there were 67 files of Rance Pharma International Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company and 4 files of Hacofood Group Nutrition Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company announced at the Hanoi Food Safety Department.

According to Mr. Nguyen Quang Trung, Deputy Director of Hanoi Food Safety Department, the above mentioned milk products are not counterfeit labels or brands of other products, but the nutrients in the milk are less than 70% of the declared amount and are mainly nutritional products and supplements for children from 0-12 months old.

A representative of the Hanoi Food Safety Department said that for the 71 fake milk products of the above 2 companies, the unit took 4 samples from Rance Pharma International Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company in August 2023 and took 1 sample from Hacofood Group Nutrition Pharmaceutical Joint Stock Company in September 2024 for testing but did not detect any violations.

“The Department has taken samples of some products of the two companies above, based on the principle of risk management, which means only testing indicators that affect consumers’ health, then sending them to the National Institute for Food Safety Testing. The product indicators all meet the records,” said Mr. Trung.

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Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/ke-ho-de-sua-gia-lach-vao-benh-vien-post791377.html