It is Vietnamese killing each other

Simple greed has fuelled many people to use harmful chemicals in the production of food, wreaking destruction on
the environment despite the dire consequences it has for their fellow country people.

Watering vegetables with kerosene, planting vegetables in cemeteries or washing vegetables near sewers make
headline news and cause fear among public.
There are also stories of rice soaked in pesticides, huge amount of antibiotic residue found in shrimp, fish and pork,
chicken meat painted with varnish and beef pumped full of water to gain weight.
Thanks to its dirty food, dirty water and air in another five years Vietnam will probably see a cancer epidemic because
now over 100,000 are already diagnosed with this illness each year.
The people are being poisoned and their lives are being put in danger in ways that have never been seen before.
"The road from the stomach to the cemetery has never seemed so short and straight," said National Assembly
Deputy Tran Ngoc Vinh.
It's us, the Vietnamese, who have been creating this expressway to early deaths because of greed, no matter how
small the profit is.
We are the ones who water vegetables with kerosene or with excessive pesticide then sell it to each other.
We are the ones who apply varnish to meat and make spoiled food looks fresh again by using chemicals and then
sell it on to local restaurants.
We are the ones who feed fish urea fertiliser and import nine tonnes of salbutamol and then use most of it to feed our
livestock.
We transport the harmful chemicals into our country and look the other way to let such transportation pass. We are
polluting the air we breathe in and killing our rivers.
Don't blame other countries or say that we are being poisoned by others, because we are doing it to ourselves.
It's time to wake up and agencies must step in. We must consider the fight against dirty food the same as the fight
against corruption or external enemies, because dirty food will kill our future generations.
The most exciting recent news was that the Vietnam Fatherland Front will begin to play a role in food safety.
Chairman of Vietnam Fatherland Front, Nguyen Thien Nhan, said as a society we cannot ignore the 100,000 people
diagnosed with cancer each year because of their surroundings and food.
He considered it a debt that state agencies and the fatherland front owe to the people.
"Using dirty food is the same as using poison and Vietnamese should not poison each other. Manufacturers must
make a commitment that 'as a cultured and civilised people, I can't be involved with the manufacturing products that
are not safe for other people, he said.
The revised Criminal Code which will take effect from July also increased the penalties for violating hygienic food
regulations.
People who use banned substances in the manufacturing, processing and preservation of food will face up to 20
years in prison.
The previous Criminal Code required immediate consequences such as death and serious health problems to occur
and violators only faced five years of imprisonment.
FOOD SAFETY IN VIETNAM
Foods in Vietnam are not always safe as they look, especially in street small shops and vendors load. Since the price
of materials rose up in recent years, many shops must reduce cost to maintain their profit. This leads to the decrease
of safety rate in street foods.
It is quite adventurous to consume street foods in Vietnam nowadays. A bowl of Pho or Bun Rieu (vermicelli with
crab soup) can make you down quite easily. With Pho, it is not too easy to have problem except for the half-done
beef, but vermicelli is not too safe to eat, especially the raw vegetables served with the bowl. In small shops along the
street, they rarely clean the vegetables well due to the lack of time, thus far can cause serious problem since vegetables
in Vietnam are full of insecticide, sometimes more than the allowed ratio. Many people believe that vermicelli is not
perfect without raw vegetables, but it is not a wise choice to have it in small shops or from vendors. Better to have it in
restaurant or at home, with well-clean vegetables. Another thread is fried and roasted food along some markets, like
pork, bird, chicken and duck. The coal they use for roasting produces too much smoke for the meat, can cause cancer
in the future, and the seasons for those meats sometimes contains chemical colors which are banned. Moreover,
Vietnamese people love to eat pigs and ducks blood, and this is another thread of stomach problem.
Sweets, cakes and drinks are no exception. Sweet soups in Vietnam are sold in street shops, and rarely cover before
transfer to customers, thus far contain so much dust and other stuffs. The sells just let all the materials in different bowl,
and mix them together whenever customers request. Moreover, some sweet soup materials once found has origin from
chemicals, like polymer (material for producing money). Deep fried cakes are cooked with old oil, and people keep
using the oil until it turns black. Sugar added in cakes is chemical one which has so much sweeter taste than the natural
one, by this seller can reduce the cost. Nevertheless, the oil absorbs much dust from the street through the day and
that dust comes to the cakes easily. Milk they use to produce street cakes is directly taken from cows without any clean
treatment. Drinks, likewise, have their own threat for customers belly. Sugarcane juice, one of the most popular drinks
of Vietnam, contains many dangerous elements. First, the machines the sellers use to extract the juice from sugarcane
are not always clean. Sometime it can be old, dirty or even rusty in details. Second, the sugarcanes are not clean
before go to the machines, and the ice cubes they add to the cup is not safe at all. The only trusted address to drink
this wonderful juice is Shake, a famous brand with many options for consumers to add to the cup, like mint, strawberry,
apple, mango
In general, if you are afraid of having problem with your belly, you really should go to big restaurants, or trusted address
to have a meal. Otherwise, you should take some medicine before or after enjoying Vietnamese street foods to your
hearts content. Yet, feel free to eat your desired foods as most Vietnamese do that every day and hardly do anyone
get trouble with street foods. An experience is absolutely worth, you know that right?
Dirty food linked to 35% of cancer cases in Vietnam
Truc Diem
Wednesday, Aug 24,2016,20:40 (GMT+7)

HANOI Cancer patients are increasing rapidly in Vietnam and unhygienic food is responsible
for up to 35% of them, according to Hoang Dinh Chan, director of Hung Viet Tumor Hospital.
Data provided by the Ministry of Health at a forum on connecting businesses and consumers and
organic food in Hanoi on August 23 showed more than 75,000 people die of cancer a year
nationwide, or 250 a day.
The ministry said total costs of direct and indirect treatment for the most common cancers including
breast, liver, colon, oral cavity and stomach have amounted to VND26 trillion (US$1.17 billion), or
0.22% of Vietnams gross domestic products (GDP).
Dirty food is one of the causes of cancers and affects the quality and stature of the Vietnamese
race.
Chan cited a report of the Plant Protection Department under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development as saying that over 2,000 out of 11,000 plant protection drug production and trading
facilities sell substandard products and over 2,500 breach requirements for using plant protection
products.
Chan said 30% of cancer patients die of smoking and only 5-10% of genetic reasons. This means
that in most cases, cancers are preventable.
Chan stressed that people would face fewer cancer risks if they avoid smoking and drinking
alcoholic beverages, pay attention to regular health checks and early cancer screenings, and use
food supplied by reliable sources.
However, it is not easy to buy clean food on August 24. A recent survey indicated 45% of
respondents are not confident in food they buy day in, day out.
At the forum, Truong Dinh Tuyen, former Minister of Commerce, said securing plant quarantine
standards to enjoy the 0% duty for Vietnams agro-aqua product exports is the biggest challenge for
the agricultural sector.
When the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) takes effect, Tuyen said, it would be easy to find the
answer to consumers choices between imported clean agricultural products at reasonable prices
and Vietnamese food with unknown origin.
Therefore, it is urgent for Vietnam to turn out clean agricultural products to protect the health of
local people and boost exports.
Dirty food in Vietnam: its effects and solutions.

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