VietNamNet Bridge – A seafood processing factory in Thai Binh Province has suspended operations for two months after a batch of seafood exports was found to have rat poison and human excrement.

In late July, two Japanese news agencies, Japan Times and NHK, reported that the government of Yamaguchi Prefecture (Japan) discovered several boxes of frozen fish imported from Vietnam containing rat poison and a substance suspected as human excrement. These substances were found in 5kg cardboard boxes containing frozen fish, and they were wrapped in plastic bags, in two supermarkets.

Health officials of Yamaguchi Prefecture later determined that the powder wrapped in plastic bags was rat poison. The products were withdrawn from supermarkets. The products came from a shipment imported from May from the Rich Beauty Company based in the province of Thai Binh, Vietnam.

After the incident, the Japanese side sent notices to the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development of Vietnam and stopped the import of the Rich Beauty Company.

Nguyen Nhu Tiep, Director of the Agriculture, Forestry & Fishing Quality Management Department, said this was a very serious case, with signs of vandalism and it has greatly affected the reputation of Vietnamese seafood exporters not only in Japan but also in other countries. The agency has cooperated with investigating authorities to clarify the case.

Recently, the police agency prosecuted defendants related to this incident. The suspect is Tran Xuan Trinh, a worker with the product storage team of the Rich Beauty Company. According to an investigation, Trinh put rat poison, waste, fish processing knives and screws into the exports to Japan to discredit his company in order to reduce his workload.

A company official said after the incident, the enterprise had to stop production because its main market, Japan, was now "closed".

"We have only focused on the Japanese market so we did not promote expansion to other markets. When the incident occurred, we had to stop production to wait for the investigation’s results. Our revenue and reputation have been severely affected. In early September we obtained a new certificate to export to other markets but we still closed the factory because we lacked clients," he said.

The representative also said that after the police investigation ends, the company would work with the relevant bodies and the Japanese partners to continue exports to this market. "But it may take a few months more to resume operation. Moreover, perhaps we cannot sign a contract with the former partner," he added.

The Rich Beauty Vietnam Food Co., Ltd. began production in August 2007 at the Tan Son fishing port area, in Thai Thuy district, Thai Binh province. It is a Taiwanese-invested high-end seafood processing firm. Its main products for export to Japan and Australia are frozen shrimp and fish.

The factory has 400 workers and 700 people at peak times. In the first five months of 2014, it earned more than $4 million in revenue.

S. Tung