On Thursday the local government of the Central Highlands city of Da Lat launched a campaign to hunt for four products that are sold to tourists as Da Lat specialties, while they are in fact imported from China.

The disguised products include potatoes, artichoke pollen, tamarind jam, and pickled plums.

“Except for potatoes, Da Lat has no ingredients to make such so-called specialties,” said Pham S, deputy chairman of the city’s local government.

The Chinese products are sold under the labels of Da Lat specialties to dupe local and international tourists, S said.

“This is a serious commercial fraud that negatively affects local production and the city’s tourism reputation, and should be completely curbed,” he added.

However, Kieu Xuan Viet, deputy director of the Lam Dong Department of Industry and Trade, said it is not simple to remove the fake products from the market.

“After importing the produce from China, local traders will put them into new packaging and label them with the fake Da Lat specialty labels,” he explained.

Local agencies have recently confiscated more than 100 kilograms of artichoke pollen, according to Viet.