An establishment that supplies shredded water spinach to eateries in the southern province of Dong Nai has been found soaking the vegetable in dubious chemical to make them look greener.
Officers under the Dong Nai market surveillance agency have closely watched over the facility run by Nguyen Thi Le Quyen in the provincial capital of Bien Hoa before deciding to raid the establishment on Friday.
At the facility, market watchdog officers found 100kg of raw water spinach, known in Vietnamese as rau muong, and a washing basin containing a green liquid chemical.
Officers also found 15kg of shredded water spinach, a machine to shred the vegetable and a box containing around 1kg of a dubious, unidentified green powder.
Quyen, 44, confessed to officers she bought the powder at Kim Bien, an infamous chemical market in Ho Chi Minh City, and would use to mix with water to create the liquid chemical to soak the vegetable with.
The market watchdog team booked the case and seized all the products.
Water spinach is one of the most popular vegetables in Vietnam. It is frequently seen in daily meals by locals, as well as served as a side dish to several delicious foods.
The shredded water spinach is usually served along Vietnamese noodle dishes such as bun bo (spicy beef noodle soup flavored with lemongrass), bun cha (rice vermicelli with meat balls), bun rieu cua (rice vermicelli with crab paste), and bun oc (rice vermicelli with shellfish) or hotpot and can also be eaten raw.
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