The Department of Food Safety, under the Ministry of Health, has yet to receive any official statement from Japanese authorities on the recent recall of 18,000 Chinsu chili sauce bottles containing a banned additive, the local media reported, citing Nguyen Thanh Phong, director of the department. Phong stated on April 6 that the ministry had asked the competent agencies to clarify the matter.

The image of Chinsu chili sauce bottles appears on Osaka news portal. Japanese authorities have recalled more than 18,000 chili sauce bottles from Vietnam for violating food safety and food labeling laws - PHOTO: OSAKA CITY

The additive found in Chinsu chili sauce bottles made in Vietnam is acid benzoic, which is allowed as a food preservative, according to the Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC), of which both Vietnam and Japan are members, he noted, adding that it is necessary to verify whether the additive is permitted for use in the preservation of chili sauce.

Meanwhile, the Osaka Information Portal reported that acid benzoic is banned as a preservative for all chili sauce in Japan.

The portal stated that the shipment of over 18,000 chili sauce bottles containing the prohibited condiment was imported from Vietnam to Japan by the Osaka-based company Javis last December and was then sold to the Kobe-based ISC Industrial Company.

As Javis did not declare that the imported chili sauce contained acid benzoic before selling it to the company, it violated food safety and food labeling laws.

Commenting on the matter, Masan Group, the manufacturer of the chili sauce, on April 6 said that the firm had never exported its product to Japan but had officially only shipped its chili sauce to the United States, Australia, Russia, the Czech Republic, China and Taiwan to date.

A representative of Masan Group, Vu Thi Thu Thuy, was cited by Thanh Nien newspaper as saying that the firm’s products were produced and distributed in line with regulations on food safety and food labeling issued by Vietnam and importers.

Also, Thuy remarked that the levels of 0.41 to 0.45 gram of acid benzoic detected in the recalled shipment of Chinsu chili sauce were still within safety limits and do not affect people’s health, in accordance with Japan’s regulations.

SGT