Vietnam bans two soft drinks over excess lead content

By Nam Phuong May 23, 2016 | 12:32 am PT

The Ministry of Health Inspectorate has decided to suspend the circulation of C2 green tea and Red Dragon energy drink, two popular drinks in Vietnam, for exceeding the lead content limit.

The ministry specifies that the limit of lead must not be higher than 0.05 milligrams per liter. Recent samples taken by Vietnam's Institute of Nutrition found a sample of C2 green tea contained 0.085 while Red Dragon recorded 0.068.

vietnam-bans-two-soft-drinks-over-excess-lead-content

C2 green tea and Red Dragon energy drink

The circulation of the two drinks was officially stopped on May 20.

The ministry has also instructed Hanoi URC Limited Company, the producer of the two drinks, to recall its products and provide a detailed report by May 23.

Questions concerning the levels of lead in URC’s products arose at the start of May when test results of C2 and Red Dragon were leaked on social networks. Since then URC has coordinated with authorities to carry out other tests but the results have been inconsistent. The Ministry of Health has asked three Vietnamese institutes to check samples of URC’s products before coming to a final decision.