With cheap prices and abundant supplies, imported frozen pork is now rampant through traditional markets in Vietnam, despite unstable quality.

At the areas near the Hoc Mon and Thu Duc wholesale markets in Ho Chi Minh City, many vendors set up makeshift booths to sell a huge volume of frozen pork every morning.

The pork was not preserved in cold storage and was left exposed to open air.

Also, these batches of frozen pork were found to have no packaging and information in terms of product origin and expiry date.

However, these frozen pork booths attracted lots of customers as its prices are much cheaper than those of fresh pork.

A local customer named Ngan, who was choosing pork at a booth in the Thu Duc wholesale market, told Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper that she opted to buy frozen pork for a long time due to its low prices to serve her eatery, though she knew its quality was not stable and could not track its origin and expiry date.

The prices of frozen pork ribs and meatloaf in the local market are VND40,000 (US$1.67) per kilogram and side pork is around VND73,000-78,000 ($3.05-3.26).

Pork shank and pig tail products now sell for VND70,000 ($2.93) and VND85,000 ($3.55) per kilogram, respectively.

A vendor shared that these prices were just half of the prices of domestic fresh pork. Also, the supply of frozen pork is abundant. Hence, frozen pork is a product of choice for many consumers.

This vendor, however, declined to answer questions about the origin, product quality certifications, and expiry date of her frozen pork products.

According to data released by the General Department of Vietnam Customs, Vietnam imported $774 million worth of meat and meat by-products from 47 countries and territories in the first seven months of 2022.

The price of imported pork was $2,123 per ton on average, or VND50,000 ($2.09) per kilogram.

Meanwhile, the prices of domestic fresh pork at local supermarkets are VND125,000 ($5.24) for a kilogram of pork shank, VND185,000 ($7.75) per kilogram of side pork, and VND230,000 ($9.64) for a kilogram of spare ribs.

Retail sale of frozen pork should be closely monitored

Because of its very low prices, a wide selection of imported frozen pork is offered for sale in the local market.

Imported frozen pork has won against local fresh pork to be supplied to canteens, schools, hospitals, eateries, and restaurants, a food expert in Ho Chi Minh City told Tuoi Tre.

However, imported frozen pork will be of poor quality if it is not properly preserved in cold storage and has no adequate packaging and labels, the expert added.

The expert suggested relevant forces should ramp up efforts to inspect major importers of frozen pork.

Expired products or those without clear origin must be discarded immediately to help prevent substandard pork from being sold in the market.

Many major food enterprises also warned of low-quality imported frozen pork that poses a high risk of consumers becoming sick from food-borne diseases.

Nguyen Ngoc An, general director of Vissan Company, a major food manufacturer in Ho Chi Minh City, said the prices of imported frozen food are usually 20-50 percent lower than those of domestic fresh pork.

Accordingly, a number of vendors attempted to cheat consumers by selling them imported frozen pork but said it was domestic fresh pork to make illegal gains.

As proposed, officials tightened their control over the import of frozen pork and the retail sale of this product type.

Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam!