A market management team in Quang Tri province has seized 1.5 tons of dried shredded squid that was being transported without documents. The squid is likely fake, as it is as elastic as plastic and lacks the distinctive smell of natural dried squid. The seizure was made on Monday when market officers stopped a suspicious truck for examination and discovered the squid hidden among the goods. The squid had no specific taste or favor, and it could be stretched as easily as elastic bands. The truck’s driver, Tran Van Minh, failed to show any documents related to the squid. He said he received the goods at Hai Phong Port to transport them to Ho Chi Minh City. The team seized all of the squid and said it would send samples for testing.
This is the largest volume of dried shredded squid suspected to be false that has been discovered in the province so far, the team said. Similar seizures of suspicious squid were made in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau province on July 29 and 30, when a local market management team inspected kiosks selling the product at the Ba Ria Trade Center. The inspection took place after a consumer complained to concerned agencies that he had bought squid and found that it was as elastic as plastic. He burned it and the smell was the same as that of burning rubber or plastic. The squid was light pink and tasted sweet. When soaked in water, it could be stretched as easily as elastic bands to a length that was twice its original measurement. Thai Hong Quan, the head of the team, said his staff inspected 13 kiosks and seized and destroyed 20 kg of false squid. A trader revealed that they bought the squid for VND180,000 (US$8.5) per kg and then sold it for VND220,000 per kg.