|
Chinese eggs bleached in Vietnamese village scam
A village in Hanoi has discovered how to turn low grade Chinese eggs into more expensive Vietnamese ones by soaking them in acid.
The scam was uncovered by reporters from Saigon Tiep Thi who arrived in Dong Ngan Village in the Hanoi suburbs and were shocked by what they saw.
Brown Eggs sourced in China were being quickly turned white after an acid bath. They were so bleached the yolk was visible through shell when held up to the light
One local resident said: “Everyone in the village get involved in bleaching eggs”.
According to Saigon Tiep Thi, these are Chinese eggs which are carried to Dong Ngan village through various channels. Local residents purchase the low grade factory farmed eggs at 1,000 dong per egg. Then, following bleaching, scammers can double their money and sell the eggs as local white eggs for 2,000 dong each.
Saigon Tiep Thi’s reporters on October 13 purchased 10 white eggs at 37,000 dong from a stall at Thai Binh Market. The seller said that the eggs were sourced from a farm in Lam Dong province.
The boiled eggs showed there was much white and little yolk, while the yolk was straw coloured as might be expected from factory farmed chicken eggs.
An egg supplier on Phu Huu Road in district 5 of HCM City also said most of the eggs on sales at traditional markets are the “industrial eggs” which have been bleached.
“The eggs have the cost price of 12-13,000 dong per 10 eggs and they can be sold at 35-37,000 dong,” he said.
A local resident said every day, 10-15 trucks bring Chinese eggs to the village. Each trucks carries 100,000 eggs, meaning that 1-1.5 million eggs are brought to the village every day.
Phan Xuan Thao, Director of HCM City Veterinary Sub-Department, said the sub-department still has not discovered acid-treated eggs carried from the north selling on HCM City Market. However, Thao promised to check information about the places which were selling acid eggs.
Meanwhile, Bui Quang Anh, head of the Veterinary Department, has instructed his department to join forces with the veterinary agency of Dong Anh district to investigate the case.
Meanwhile, Dr. Le Thi Hong Hao, deputy head of the National Institute for Food Safety Testing, has affirmed there are several types of substance used to bleach eggs, including javel, hypochlorite, KMnO4 and acids.
The chemicals may soak though the egg shell into the white and yolk inside. Hao said that this may harm human health and may cause food poisoning at different levels.
vietnamnet, tt
|
