Four “nutritious gruel” producers in Ho Chi Minh City were closed temporarily Wednesday as they were found operating in unhygienic conditions.

The four firms asked to shut down are: Anh Kim, Nang Huong, Vu Hoang Mai and Baby.

The inspection was carried out after gruel samples collected by Tuoi Tre from four stalls last Tuesday tested positive for sodium benzoate which is banned from the cereal but was being used to keep the gruel fresh for days in normal condition.

According to the US Food and Drug Administration, one gram of sodium benzoate per a kilogram of body weight can kill the person.

Nguyen Minh Hung, chief inspector of the city Health Department, said the department had visited 88 gruel household producers in two inspections this year, blacklisting 39 and imposing fines worth a total of VND148 million (US$8,300).

Hung said the stalls were fined for using dirty equipment and not having employees examined at medical centers or trained in cooking safety and hygiene.

A total of 27 gruel samples were taken during the second inspection for testing their ingredients.

Do Thi Tuyet Lan, head of brand development at Song Kim Joint Stock Co. that provides Cay Thi “nutritious” gruel, was quoted by Tuoi Tre as saying her gruel used a very little amount of sodium benzoat around two months ago as an experiment but had not done it since.

Cay Thi gruel is being sold at the Children’s Hospital No.2.

Vu Ngoc Tan, director of Vu Hoang Mai company that produces Hoang Mai “nutritious” gruel - also admitted having tried the chemical “to offer a better product to customers” but have stopped that recently.

The two producers have never listed the chemical on their package, saying it was only used as a trial.

Le Truong Giang, deputy director of HCMC Health Department, said the department inspectors had never checked the ingredients of the rice gruel that is sold to so many children in the city because they (the inspectors) were very busy with other works.

Source: Thanh Nien, Tuoi Tre