November 10, 2006

Milk products in Vietnam will be inspected anew

As Vietnamese consumers still wary about the quality of milk sold in the markets, another nationwide inspection of milk products will be carried out this month by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MoST).

The MoST, in cooperation with the Ministries of health, trade and industry will inspect milk products including liquid, powdered and condensed milk.

Inspectors will verify the adherence by companies to regulations on ingredients, quantity and labelling.

The inspection will start in Hanoi and HCM City. Violators, under the government decree 175, will be fined VND1.5 million (US$93.17) to VND3 million (US$186). Penalties will be doubled to those using powdered milk in processing fresh milk.

On September 29, the Ministry of Health has conducted a national inspection of the quality of fresh milk. However, the inspection results have not been made public yet.