Dirty food is in the supermarket, why do we let it be?

Somehow, dirty food still manages to sneak into supermarkets and sits on shelves waiting to rip off consumers at high prices, under the guise of 'clean food'.

Tuoi Tre Online readers expressed their dissatisfaction when the owner of the facility growing bean sprouts with toxic chemicals in Hue was not criminally prosecuted – Photo: TUNG NGAN

As reported, Hue City Police discovered a facility using growth-stimulating chemicals to grow bean sprouts. The facility owner also admitted to buying chemicals to water the bean sprouts to stimulate the bean sprouts to develop blisters and shorten the roots, then selling them to the Hue City market.

Because the value of 750kg of confiscated drugs at the facility had a market price of no more than 10 million VND, the facility was only fined 45 million VND and suspended for 2 months.

To add more perspective on the incident, here is a share from reader Trang Nguyen sent to Tuoi Tre Online.

Dirty food: Anxious, scared, terrified…

Like many other people, I am truly indignant because the act of poisoning consumers' health has not been strictly handled, properly punished, and has not created a deterrent effect.

And this is the opinion of reader Thang Le on Tuoi Tre Online newspaper: The value of 750kg seized at the facility has a market price of no more than 10 million VND, so there is not enough basis to initiate a case.

How many batches of that size has this facility produced so far? Poisoning their own people and fined them a few dozen million and that's it?

That is also the question that worries and torments many people like us.

Price is just one of the countless foods and drinks we need every day. Unintentionally, our hands directly bring toxins hidden in meat, fish, vegetables, fruits… into our own mouths.

Yet, recently, facilities have been discovered soaking bean sprouts with chemicals. From Quang Ngai, Thua Thien Hue and now Dak Lak .

Even more horrifying, 2,900 tons of mung bean sprouts "nourished" with "candy water" (6-Benzylaminopurine, a toxic substance that causes hydrocephalus and birth defects) were sold on the market in 2024, and sneaked into large supermarket chains...

Like many other consumers, every time the press reports on a food poisoning case, or horrifying statistics about vegetables soaked in chemicals, seafood with residual active ingredients, or smelly organs that have been enchanted… my heart flutters with worry, fear, and dread…

Yet somehow these things still manage to sneak into supermarkets and sit on shelves waiting to pick consumers' wallets at high prices, in the name of "clean food".

When will "heaven calls, each one answers" end?

The story of prices grown with chemicals is a horrifying slice of the picture of dirty food poisoning and destroying the health of consumers, still a story that "we know, it's so hard, we keep talking about it"!

But after the wave of negative emotions, each person has no choice but to grit their teeth and accept the fate of "everyone has to do whatever the heavens call" by accepting luck and misfortune every time they cook, fry, or worry about putting rice in their mouths every day?

For years, the fight against dirty food has been a hot topic in every family. Families that receive food “supplies” from the countryside are lucky. Families with large gardens and balconies with enough space to hang poles and ropes for squash to grow and gourds to climb have become a simple source of happiness.

But is that enough homegrown, home-raised, home-made food to always feel secure with clean meals and healthy bowls of rice? Because no one is talented enough to be self-sufficient in everything without buying food and bringing illness upon themselves.

My little sister always goes to the market and looks for the tiny street stalls of the simple, rustic women who sell things to choose bunches of bananas, bunches of vegetables, squashes, and squashes in order to find some peace of mind about the vegetables in her garden.

But not everyone has the free time to wander the streets looking for street vendors to place their trust in.

So people are still used to stopping by to buy food and groceries. Parents are still nervous every morning and afternoon when their children choose breakfast and snacks.

My friend puts his trust in reputable supermarkets and stores with established brands on the market, always clearly labeled, with specific traceability in the hope of having clean food.

But even so careful, it is not possible to escape, as in the case of chemically grown prices still entering supermarkets.

When will the situation of dirty food depending on luck or "God calls, each person answers" end?

Tighten the "gatekeeping" of dirty food

The fight against dirty food, though difficult and fraught with many obstacles, cannot be left to fend off and leave people's health to be surrounded by chemically soaked fruits, vegetables with pesticide residues, and carelessly processed and preserved street food...

I think the responsibility of "gatekeeping" to protect people's health of state management agencies needs to be tightened further.

Regularly and continuously inspect and thoroughly handle food safety violations to resolutely protect public health.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/thuc-pham-ban-vao-tan-sieu-thi-sao-no-de-troi-keu-ai-nay-da-20241228104040717.htm