Me Tri Commune in Nam Tu Liem District is home to 64 cốm producers and traders. Their businesses have been negatively impacted after cốm producer Do Duc Tang was found to be using a controversial additive in the production process.
After conducting a surprise inspection at Tang’s production facilities on September 23, authorities found that he used substances that are banned from food production in order to colour the cốm upon the demands of some wholesalers. The authorities took some samples for testing and suspended the Tang's operations pending a final decision.
Me Tri cốm struggles to protect brand
Now, the entire village is struggling to protect the prestige of their traditional craft.
Tran Van Thanh, a cốm producer in the commune, said, “We’ve seen a sharp fall in sales after the addictive incident. They are down from between 10 and 20 kilos per day to nearly zero recently.”
According to Thanh, before the incident his business was good, especially after the launch of the website cometri.com.vn. Since the beginning of this season, his family has sold hundreds of kilos.
“We were shocked. It’s like the fly in the ointment. Now we find it hard to sell our product,” Thanh said.
Do Huy Hung worked in the trade for 30 years. His entire family lives on this income. He was the man who revived the craft after the same scandal in 2011.
“My 70-year-old mother sells cốm at Buoi market. Recently she has only been able to sell a few kilos a day instead of dozens. After the incident, local people surrounded the violator’s house in protest,” Hung said.
Making cốm
The craft creates jobs for around 1,500 people in the commune.
Nguyen Dinh Cuong, head of the market watchdog group in Hanoi, said, “Since the incident, we have conducted an inspection of all cốm producers in Me Tri Commune, which showed that they all strictly comply with the food safety and hygiene standards.”
The violating producer was closed and may be fined if test results show the health code was broken.
Local medical authorities also asked 64 cốm producers to meet for an educational seminar on the food safety regulations.
