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Archive Number 20100304.0704
Published Date 04-MAR-2010
Subject PRO/MBDS> Fertilizer contamination - Viet Nam: Ha Giang, bean sprouts, RFI
FERTILIZER CONTAMINATION - VIET NAM: HA GIANG, BEAN SPROUTS, REQUEST
FOR INFORMATION
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A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Tue 2 Mar 2010
Source: Thanh Nien News, Viet Nam News Agency report (VNA) [edited]
<http://www.thanhniennews.com/2010/Pages/20100302104039.aspx>
Banned chemical used to stimulate bean sprouts
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A team of inspectors, including those from Ha Giang Market Management
Department, destroyed hundreds of kilograms of bean sprouts this week
[last week of February 2010].
Local traders usually used 2 ml bottles of SHS that costs VND
1500-2000 (USD 0.08-0.11) in the market to soak 11-12 kilograms of
the beans. The beans would then sprout 2 days faster than normal. The
green chemical that smells like pesticide also causes the bean
sprouts to store water and thus weigh 1.7 times more.
The families have been selling the soaked bean sprouts for VND 17 000
[USD 0.91] per kilo at local markets and VND 24 000 [USD 1.3] per
kilo to local restaurants, making profits of VND 10 000-12 000 [USD
0.53-0.64] per kilo, the inspectors said.
The use of SHS is banned in Viet Nam and the families had smuggled it
in from abroad.
The chemical is also known as "leaf fertilizer" among Vietnamese
farmers as they spray it on the leaves of plants and trees, and
sometimes their trunks, to kill insects.
The Ministry of Health has banned the use of SHS, but many farmers
still inject it into fruits to keep them fresh for longer periods.
--
Communicated by:
PRO/MBDS
<promed-mbds@promedmail.org>
[According to newswire above, a fertilizer called SHS, which the Viet
Nam Ministry of Health has banned for use in food processing, has
been detected in bean sprouts in the markets of Ha Giang province.
However, neither the full name nor the scientific name of this
fertilizer is given.
PRO/MBDS would highly appreciate further information on this banned
chemical and product.
For a map of Viet Nam with provinces, see
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:VietnameseProvincesMap.png>. The
interactive HealthMap/ProMED-mail map with direct links to other
outbreaks in Viet Nam and surrounding countries reported on
ProMED-mail and PRO/MBDS can be accessed at
<http://healthmap.org/r/00SC>. - Mod.QCN]