THE "PHO" SCANDAL
A health scandal related to "pho" or beef noodle soup, the most popular food for breakfast and lunch in Vietnam, broke out at the end of 1999 and became the story that has brought fears to people in Vietnam during the first weeks of the Third Millennium and the 21st Century.
On December 31, 1999, the Hanoi Public Health Department shut down some noodle-making shops for using formaldehyde to preserve their noodles.
The story, quickly spreading fears over Hanoi and other cities, has devastated noodle eateries, particularly in Hanoi. Many "pho" shops reported 90 percent drop in business.
Beef noodle is very popular in Vietnam. It is different from Chinese-style noodle, and is called "pho," pronounced [furh] in Vietnamese.
Of the 70 noodle-making shops in Hanoi, 10 were inspected earlier this month and confirmed by Hanoi Public Security authorities as having violated current laws regarding people's safety. However, an official in Hanoi Public Security Department said the 10 noodle-making shops haven't been deservedly penalized.
The shops were found to be using formaldehyde - a chemical that is used to preserve human corpses and organs in hospitals - to keep the noodles fresh for a longer shelf time. The 40 percent of formalin or Formol (trademark) is made up by formaldehyde, CHCO.
Later in the week,more investigations have been conducted all over Saigon and other cities. According to Hanoi media, about 60 to 70 percent of noodle-making shops have used formaldehyde in the process.
The chemical can be harmful if ingested and is said to cause cancer and damages to kidney, liver and nerve.
Noodle is the principal ingredient along with only beef or chicken, not pork or any other meat, to make up noodle soup. Conservative eaters, however, prefer beef as a basic, original and traditional ingredient to make noodle soup taste best.
Noodles used in "pho" are made of rice powder into thin wafers, which will be sliced into strips before serving with beef or chicken and boiling broth. To meet the taste standards, noodles must be soft but not doughy.
Rice wafers go bad easily especially in hot climate. Therefore, to keep them firm enough and to preserve them for a longer time, producers use some chemicals that include borax. However, formaldehyde has been used for that purposes only in recent years, first in Hanoi.
The scandal caused a great shock to the public. Hanoi authorities haven't explained why they reacted so slow to such violation that was fatally harmful to the public. The violation was reported to the Public Health Department on October 26, 1999. But Hanoi authorities haven't responded timely and properly until December 31.
Only when the scandal was publicized, did Hanoi government hastily launch a noisy campaign of investigation, apparently to calm down public anger. At the same time, a series of regulations concerning procedures to register, application, standard of food safety, sanctions against violations... were decreed in a week.
All of the facts prove that public safety matters have been neglected so far. They also indicate that until last week, there has been no control or enforcement of food regulations, even no proper regulations at all on the variety of prepared foods sold in the booming eateries industry in cities and towns.
The said fresh noodle wafers are not sold outside Vietnam. The groups of rice wafer producers in Vietnam assured that the "instant pho" with dehydrated noodles exported to locations around the world where Vietnamese émigrés are living has not been preserved with formaldehyde. Many Vietnamese abroad don't really trust the assurance.
"Pho" is not only preferred by Vietnamese, but also by white and black Americans. It is cheap in cost, very tasty and nutritious, convenient and quickly served. During lunch break, at many "Pho" houses in North and South California nearly half of the customers are black and white Americans. So "pho" is infiltrating into the American society as pizza is from Italy.
The American "pho" lovers should not worry about the possible contamination. Noodles used by "pho" houses in the U.S.A. are made locally under strict control of responsible American authorities.
The "pho" scandal is not the only case. Since 1975, most foods have not been regulated. Increasing corruption and such lack of regulations were given green light to safety violations. Rice wine, made crystal clear by a few drops of insecticide in a liter, is a good example among many others.
HANOI-BEIJING RELATIONS
Hanoi Prime Minister Phan Van Khai received a delegation of Chinese experts specializing in steel and chemical production led by Director General Liu HanZhang in Hanoi on Jan. 4, 2000.
The Chinese delegation is there under a recent agreement between Beijing and Hanoi.
The Chinese experts are helping upgrade the Thai Nguyen Iron and Steel Plant and the Ha Bac Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant and improve their management to raise production efficiency, the state-controlled Vietnam News Agency reported.
The two plants were built in the early 1960s with assistance from China Communist Party. Both were seriously damaged by American bombs during the Vietnam War as the last blast-furnace of the steel plant was under construction. After 1975, with Beijing's little help that even stopped since the 1979 armed conflict between the two former comrades, equipment and technology of both plants have become obsolete and the plants have suffered losses for years.
Chinese help came as a result of the recent visit to Vietnam of Chinese Prime Minister Zhu Rongji and his talks with the Vietnam Communist Party leaders.
The assistance from the Chinese Communist leaders has a special meaning, not because of the technical and economic aspects but of the function of the Ha Bac Nitrogenous Fertilizer Plant. The title carries only a half of its importance.
Although officially known as a fertilizer plant, its main product was the low grade dynamite used in grenades, land mines, mortars and artillery shells during the Vietnam War. Only its by-products were sold to farmers for fertilizing purpose.
[[[[[[[[[[