Police in Vinh Long Province are recalling 27 allegedly counterfeit bird's nest drink products manufactured by Sai Gon Goldencare Joint Stock Company as part of an investigation into the production and sale of fake food products.
Provincial police said on July 9 that they were investigating a case involving the alleged manufacture and distribution of counterfeit food and food additives. Authorities also urged consumers to stop using the 27 bird's nest drink products listed by investigators.
Police are working with Doan Le Ngoc Phi Lan.
According to the investigation, Sai Gon Goldencare Joint Stock Company, headquartered in Ho Chi Minh City, operated a production facility at the Phong Nam Industrial Cluster in Luong Hoa Commune, Vinh Long Province.
The company, led by chief executive Doan Le Ngoc Phi Lan, 51, produced and sold products including edible bird's nest drinks, ginseng products, Cordyceps supplements and non-alcoholic beverages.
Investigators allege that the company manufactured counterfeit bird's nest drinks and have identified 27 finished products that were falsely marketed as containing bird's nest.
Police have charged Lan and Tran Minh Duy, 36, both from Ho Chi Minh City, with allegedly producing and trading counterfeit food products.
During an inspection, officers found 21 employees working at the factory without labour contracts and without the legally required protective equipment.
Investigators also said the company failed to provide legal documentation for the production site or product registration documents for the beverages being manufactured.
Authorities found large quantities of ingredients used in bird's nest drink production, including pre-cooked bird's nest products that had expired or lacked invoices and documentation verifying their origin.
The Economic Police Division seized and sealed all relevant evidence, including 80,724 finished bird's nest drink and ready-to-eat bird's nest products, more than 279,500 unlabeled semi-finished bottled products, production machinery and raw materials.
Police said the factory was producing between 10,000 and 15,000 finished products each day.
Workers told investigators that they had manufactured the drinks and ready-to-eat bird's nest products using chemical formulations provided by Lan and Duy rather than natural edible bird's nest ingredients.
Counterfeit bird's nest drinks.
As part of the investigation, Vinh Long Province Police have called on businesses and consumers in possession of any of the 27 affected products to cooperate with authorities so the items can be recovered from the market. The investigation is continuing.
