Sales of moon cakes, the Mid-Autumn Festival’s iconic speciality, may have increased, but the quality remains a big concern for Hanoi authorities.
Market for moon cakes heats up
As the Mid-Autumn Festival, held on Lunar August 15th, is drawing near, shops have started rolling out moon cakes. On Hang Buom Street, ingredients to make the cakes are available in plastic cans or bags with hand-written descriptions which lack expiry dates.
Thu Ha, an online seller, said she sold about 30 kilos of various kinds of powder each day. However, when asked where the ingredients came from, she could only say they were imported.
Ingredients of unknown origin displayed on the street
On August 26, local authorities destroyed nearly a tonne of moon cakes of unknown origin. Nguyen Viet Cuong from Hanoi Health Department said they started carrying out inspections at manufacturers as well as package and ingredients providers. Their focus this year was on traditional villages including Xuan Dinh, Xuan Tao and La Phu.
Vu Vinh Phu, president of Hanoi Supermarket Association said "It's because we can't control the origin of the ingredients, production conditions and distribution system for these cakes. Moreover, trade is often done without invoices. It's not enough if authorities only carry out inspections when the occasion is near as there are thousands of places churning these cakes out."