With a certificate of yellow O quality from Vietnam, durian is back on the way to China.

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 by the General Administration of Customs of China as qualified, 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 yellow O 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 at the end of 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 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 yellow O testing 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 durian containers were forced to turn around to be frozen or sold domestically to reduce losses. Each durian container is estimated to be 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 test 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 Thai durian shipments. 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 or Auramine O, its chemical name is Diarylmethane. This substance has 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 World Cancer Organization (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