Major Impact on Vietnam’s Noodle Exports after European Recalls

Investigations are being carried out regarding Acecook Vietnam company's instant noodles. The product has been recalled by several European countries.

This could have a major impact on exports as Vietnam is ranked 3rd in the world for production after China and Indonesia.

Hao Hao instant noodle (Photo: Vietnamnet)

After information related to Ireland's recall of two instant noodle products of Acecook Vietnam for containing ethylene oxide got attention in the past few days, many other European countries issued warnings or bans on the products.

Ireland's recall (Photo: Food Safety Authority of Ireland)

According to Vietnam Online, SPS Office under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, which is the representative of Vietnam working with WTO members about sanitary and phytosanitary contents, said that the product named “Hao Hao Sour-Hot Shrimp Flavour” and "Good Spare Ribs Flavour" was recalled by many EU countries.

These included Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Denmark, Sweden, Ireland, all for the same reason.

Based on that situation, the office asks authorities and Acecook Vietnam to work on a solution to ensure customers' health and the credibility of Vietnam's export goods.

Even before Ireland's announcement, Malta had published a notice that the product 'must not be consumed since it potentially contaminated with ethylene oxide' on Aug. 19.

Acecook’s response

Acecook Vietnam (file photo)

In a press release on Aug. 28, Acecook Vietnam's General Director Kajiwara Junichi said that the issue happened to products for the European market only.

"The two mentioned products are for export to European market only, not for selling in the domestic market. We hereby commit that all products circulating in the Vietnamese market comply with Vietnamese regulations and laws, ensuring safety for consumers' health," Acecook representative said.

Acecook Vietnam said it absolutely complied with the regulations of Vietnam, Europe, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand about not using ethylene oxide in any stage of raw material preservation, production, or storage technology.

The company said it was examining the production line and working with material suppliers to ensure product quality.

However, during the event, the company referred only to Ireland's recall, while not mentioning bans and warnings issued by other European nations, which raises the question of credibility. Investigations are under way to find out the truth.

Noodle production is big business

Paddy fields stretching over the country provide a huge quantity of rice, the principal ingredient used to produce most of the Vietnamese noodles. It can be said that noodles in Vietnam have the most diverse shapes and recipes. 

The noodle industry employs masses of workes and is vital to the countries exports.