A company in Hanoi has been fined VND17.5 million (US$755) for producing and selling a vegan pâté product that contains a dangerous toxin.

The People’s Committee in Dong Anh District has imposed the fine upon Loi Song Moi Company for failing to comply with regulations on food safety.

Loi Song Moi is the manufacturer of a vegan pâté product under the brand Minh Chay, the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department (NAFIQAD) affirmed in a report sent to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development on Thursday.

Aside from the vegan pâté, the firm also produces 12 other food products, the NAFIQAD stated, adding that 21,540 units of the unsafe product have entered the market.

About 11,770 customers have bought these products, of whom 7,449 purchased the Minh Chay vegan pâté.

The Ministry of Health recently warned that the vegan pâté product contains Clostridium botulinum type B, an anaerobic bacteria with strong toxins that can damage human health and lead to fatality.

Many consumers of the product have been hospitalized with such symptoms as muscle weakness, droopy eyelids, muscle paralysis, limb weakness, and difficulty breathing.

The company has also issued warnings on its websites as well as contacted all the customers who had bought the product.

The Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has suspended all production and business operations of Loi Song Moi Company and invalidated the firm’s food safety certificate.

The NAFIQAD has asked the city’s agriculture department to work with relevant agencies to recall and dispose of the unsafe products produced by the company.

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