VietNamNet Bridge - Consumers were shocked to hear that they may eaten fake dried squid after reports emerged that the squid was made of cellulose or rubber.

Fake dried squid.

Cheap dried squid imported from China began appearing in the coastal city of Haiphong in late 2010. The local authorities destroyed more than a ton of dried squid smuggled from China.

Before the destruction, they sent samples to a lab for testing and the results showed that this was not natural dried squid. It had a cellulose content exceeding the allowed level. The product did not meet the nutritional composition of the Vietnam Institute of Nutrition.

After five months held in a warehouse, the product was in the same condition, while dried squid usually gets mouldy in just half a month in natural conditions.

The Hanoi-based Institute of Food Technology and the Institute of Chemistry had tested some samples of dried squid in the market and found they were made of grinding fish or cellulose - a material synthesized from starch or cassava residue.

Fake dried squid and processed squid products were being sold everywhere in the central province of Thua Thien – Hue, at very cheap prices.

In August 2011, the authorities discovered three batches of dried squid without documents on coaches travelling from the north to the south.

The product was tested by burning. It did not have the distinct smell of grilled squid but the smell of polymer and was charred. It was then tested at the Central Food Testing Institute and identified as fake dried squid.

In late August 2013, 1.5 tons of dried fish were seized in the central province of Quang Tri, without any documents. After being tested, the product was identified as fake squid as the ingredients were different from the natural origin of squid. The batch was destroyed and the fake dried squid burned like rubber.

Most recently, local police last Thursday seized 1.7 tonnes of dried shredded squid, suspected to be made of rubber or plastic that was being transported without documents.

Police said they discovered the squid, together with more than 12,000 boxes containing a variety of medicines, at Kiosk B6 of the Duc Thang Company at Giap Bat Bus Station.

Nguyen Hong Minh, a member of the police team investigating fake products and violations of intellectual property rights, said that when the squid was cooked, it smelt of burning rubber or plastic. When soaked in water, the squid's colour would change from yellow-red to white. It could be stretched as easily as elastic bands.

According to testing results, the fake dried squid was composed of 30.6% protein and 69.4% an unidentified substance, suspected to be young rubber latex.

Minh Nguyet