Toxic soy sauce, chemical veggies- food scares hit Vietnam

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HANOI, Sept 10 (AFP): A frown crosses the face of Nguyen Thi Huong as she peruses the fresh produce at a Vietnamese market -- a series of food scandals has left her worried about just what is safe for her family to eat.
Vietnamese consumers have been hit by a string of bad news, with dangerous pesticides found on fruit and vegetables, cancer- causing chemicals in soy sauce and formaldehyde in the national dish, pho noodle soup.
"What can I buy now?" the 55-year-old housewife said, scanning the farm produce, tofu and meats at Hanoi's bustling Xanh market. "All the food looks fresh and good, but I can't be sure it's safe for my family."
Consumers in Vietnam, a country of 84 million people, have long been proud of their delicious and healthy cuisine, typically high in greens and low in fat and prepared with a wide variety of market-fresh ingredients.
Early each morning, thousands of farmers travel by truck, moped or bicycle to deliver fresh vegetables, poultry products and meat from outlying farms to the inner city areas of Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
But as Vietnam is turning from a mainly agrarian country, where three quarters of people are farmers, into a more industrialised and market-driven economy, food scares blamed on intense agrochemical use have risen sharply.
A recent survey by the state-run Plant Protection Department found pesticides on 30 to 60 percent of the vegetables tested in Hanoi markets, including substances that are banned in Vietnam and other countries.