Sales of imported apples have been serious damaged by a contamination scare involving a recall order on two US apple varieties feared to be affected by a potentially lethal virus.

Imported apples at a supermarket in Hanoi. Sales of imported apples drop after virus scare

Vietnamese authorities have confirmed there were no direct imports from Bidard Bros. Co. of the US, found to have been responsible for the release of contaminated apples onto world markets. But shops and supermarkets have cuts orders for all overseas apples as consumers continue to avoid them.

A representative of Hanoi's Vinmart Supermarket said it had quarantine certificates for every apple sold on its shelves, but sales have dropped sharply. Another major supermarket in Hanoi, Co.opmart, said sales of apples from overseas were down 50 percent since the contamination scare.

Ho Quoc Nguyen, head of public relations at Big C Supermarket, said the company had reviewed all import records, and suppliers had checked stocks in line with warnings from the Vietnam Food Administration, and they had confirmed all apples were free of contamination. Despite assurances, sales of imported apples fell 30 percent.

The owner of a company specialising in distribution of imported fruits in Hanoi said orders were down 40 percent since the contamination recall. No contaminated apples were found in Vietnam.

Vietnamese authorities in early January began a nationwide recall of US-grown Granny Smith and Gala apples, shipments of which from Bidard Bros. Co. were feared to be contaminated with the Listeria monocytogenes virus. Authorities were concerned that apples sourced from the US company may have indirectly reached Vietnam.

Listeriosis can be fatal, with symptoms including fever, severe headache, nausea and a stiffness of the neck. The US Food and Drug Administration said the US company may have exported contaminated apples to Vietnam, Canada, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates and ordered a global recall.

The director general of the Plant Protection Department, Nguyen Xuan Hong, said ambiguous information from one company may have encouraged consumers to avoid all imported apples.

"Consumers are very concerned and sensitive about food safety," Hong said.