Police and the market management agency in the northern province of Thanh Hoa have seized 530kg of dried bamboo shoots that were contaminated with an amount of sulfur that greatly exceeds the allowed limit. The dried sprouts were confiscated from two facilities run by Pham Ngoc Manh and Do Manh Hien on September 20, and tests conducted y the Thanh Hoa Test Center on Wednesday showed that the sulfur content is 100 times higher than the amount recommended by the World Health Organization, which is 20 milligrams per kg. “With such an excessive amount, frequent and repeated consumption of the products will cause severe health effects,” said center director Pham Ngoc Thom. The facility owners confessed to police that they had bought the moldy dried bamboo shoots, washed them with water and then dried them with sulfur before sending them to the market. One facility can produce an average of 50kg of dried bamboo shoots per day. Sulfur is a toxic substance that is banned from use in food production and preservation.