Vietnam inspects food safety at PepsiCo JV

By Toan Dao   September 7, 2016 | 05:59 pm PT
Vietnam inspects food safety at PepsiCo JV
A bottle of Pepsi is seen in this file photo illustration February 10, 2015. Photo by Reuters/Jim Young/Illustration/Files
After Coca-Cola and Philippine URC, a PepsiCo joint venture comes under scrutiny.

Vietnam is now looking into food safety at a PepsiCo joint venture following recent inspections that led to fines on the Vietnam-based subsidiaries of U.S. Coca-Cola and Philippine URC.

The Ministry of Health on Wednesday announced a decision to conduct a 45-day inspection on food safety beginning September 6 at Suntory PepsiCo Vietnam Beverage Company (SPVB), a fully foreign owned joint venture in Vietnam between U.S. PepsiCo Inc. and Japan’s Suntory Holdings Limited, VietnamPlus reported late Wednesday, quoting the ministry’s inspectorate chief Dang Van Chinh.

The inspectors will look into the firm’s relevant operations from January 1, 2015 to present and previous related periods as well.

The inspection also involves direct checks at some of the company’s distribution centers, suppliers of material, food additives, food processing aids and package.

Any violation conducted by any individual or organization found during the inspection, if any, will be subject to punishment in accordance with Vietnam’s law.

In late July, the Ministry of Health fined Coca-Cola Beverages Vietnam Ltd. a total of VND434 million ($19,186) for violations in production of food supplement.

An inspection carried out by the ministry in June found that three plants of Coca-Cola Vietnam in Ho Chi Minh City, Da Nang and Hanoi produced food supplement without obtaining any certificate on food hygiene and safety granted by the ministry.

In addition, the ministry also found the content of vitamin B9 (acid folic) in the company's Samurai Strawberry energy drink lower than what it had declared. The ministry ordered Coca-Cola Vietnam to recall the batches, which will expire in May 2017.

In late May this year, URC Hanoi Co. Ltd., the Vietnamese branch of the Filipino food and beverage firm Universal Robina Corporation (URC), was also fined by the Vietnamese ministry VND5.812 billion ($257,110) for producing and selling products with excessive lead content.

Related news:

Coca Cola Vietnam fined $19,186 for food safety violations

Philippines firm under suspicion of bribery in Vietnam lead poisoning case

 
 
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