The Department of Agriculture and Environment of Hai Phong has submitted a detailed report to the Department of Quality, Processing, and Market Development (Ministry of Agriculture and Environment), outlining the discovery of serious food safety violations linked to Halong Canfoco (Halong Canned Food JSC).

The scandal first came to light on September 8, 2025, when Hai Phong’s Economic Police Division (PC03), in collaboration with local agencies, inspected two trucks - plates 15C-298.81 and 34C-317.36 - driven by Le Ba Doanh and Trinh Ha Viet, respectively.

One vehicle contained 790kg of butchered lean pork; the other carried 484.5kg of discolored, foul-smelling pork scraps. Neither driver could provide documentation of origin or transport inspection certificates.

Investigations revealed that since May 2025, Doanh and Viet had been sourcing pork and selling it to Bui Duc Trong, a supplier in Ngo Quyen District. Trong, in turn, supplied the meat to Halong Canfoco.

Once received, the pork was stored in cold storage at facilities 7A, 7B, 7D, and warehouse 8H/215 Le Lai (Ngo Quyen District) and used to produce canned goods such as minced meat, paté, and sausages.

Samples from both seized trucks tested positive for ASF and exceeded permissible limits for E. coli. Pork stored in Canfoco’s warehouses also tested positive for ASF and Salmonella spp. - particularly samples from warehouse 7D and shipments received on July 21, August 12, and multiple dates in early September.

On September 10, further samples from warehouse 8H/215 (leased from Nam An Khanh Company) also returned positive for ASF.

In total, testing on September 10 confirmed that all samples from warehouses 7A, 7B, 7D, and 8H/215 were contaminated with Salmonella spp.

The investigation found that all ASF-infected pork delivered to Halong Canfoco had been sourced from outside Hai Phong, without the mandatory transport inspection certificates.

From September 18–29, authorities collected 260 samples for forensic testing. Among them were:

95 animal-origin samples tested for ASF and foot-and-mouth disease.
115 samples tested for microbial contamination.
27 canned/final product samples tested for animal diseases.
23 samples of plant-based or seafood ingredients tested for Salmonella spp., E. coli, lead, cadmium, and sodium benzoate.

Results showed 65 of 122 samples were positive for ASF. Eight of 115 microbial tests exceeded permitted limits (Salmonella spp). Notably, none of the 23 plant or seafood-based samples showed contamination.

Despite earlier inspections in 2023, 2024, and 2025 showing compliance with food safety regulations, recent events indicate a severe breakdown in internal control and raw material sourcing.

Destruction of nearly 14,000 paté cans

In coordination with authorities, Halong Canfoco is conducting a full review and recall of products manufactured with contaminated ingredients. The company has been instructed to notify all relevant distributors and consumers of the potential risks, including ASF infection.

Authorities have already ordered the destruction of:

790kg of pork from Le Ba Doanh
484.5kg of pork from Trinh Ha Viet
132,380kg of pork sold by Bui Duc Trong to Halong Canfoco
4,141kg of spring rolls and 3,286kg of premium spring rolls made from the tainted pork

Additional products stored in Halong Canfoco’s cold warehouses that tested positive for Salmonella spp. are also marked for destruction:

13,662kg of frozen pork skin
8,205kg of imported frozen chicken skin
6,030kg of imported frozen ground chicken

Halong Canfoco has formally proposed to destroy the following batches of paté Cột đèn:

134 boxes plus 10 cans (48 cans per box) of 90g paté, produced on September 6, 2025
156 boxes plus 23 cans (48 cans per box) of 150g paté, produced on September 7, 2025

Following the scandal, Halong Canfoco’s board of directors has suspended operations at the Hai Phong canned food factory for 14 days. Temporary management has been assigned to the deputy director while the investigation proceeds.

Tam An