Vietnamese director arrested for selling thousands of tons of animal-feed oil as human food

Nguyen Quoc Toan, spokesman for the Ministry of Public Security, announced her arrest on Thursday, saying she faces charges of producing and trading counterfeit goods as part of a large-scale smuggling and fake cooking oil operation.

Two other suspects: Nguyen Trong Nang, operator of Minh Phu Food Import-Export JSC and An Duong Production and Trading Company, and Do Thi Ngoc Mai, representative of An Hung Phuoc Import-Export Trading Company and Phuoc Thanh Agricultural Import-Export Company, have also been arrested for smuggling.

"This was a massive production and trade of counterfeit vegetable oil with health consequences that cannot yet be fully assessed," Toan said.

Investigators found that Nhat Minh Food imported crude vegetable oil intended for animal feed, then forged labels to sell it as OFOOD brand cooking oil. Tens of thousands of tons were distributed to industrial kitchens, restaurants and traditional food-processing villages nationwide.

On June 25, the Food Safety Department warned that the fake oil poses "serious risks to public health." Animal-feed oil is crude oil pressed from peanuts or soybeans that has not undergone complete refining. It can contain impurities and toxins unsafe for humans, leading to poisoning, liver and kidney damage, toxin buildup in the body, and a higher risk of chronic diseases if consumed long-term.

Authorities urged food producers, industrial kitchens and meal providers to demand clear documentation on product declarations and ingredient origins rather than relying solely on packaging.

"Facilities must not use ingredients for purposes other than their declared use in food processing, even if invoices and documents are provided," the Food Safety Department said, urging the public to report suspicious products to authorities immediately.