Ho Chi Minh City seizes tonnes of undocumented pork, chicken products

The city's Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health said an inter-agency inspection team stopped vehicles late on Thursday along National Highway 1A and Nguyen Van Linh Boulevard in Binh Chanh Commune, where officers found 183 kg of chicken intestines and 477 kg of pork being transported without quarantine certificates, proof of origin or required veterinary hygiene documentation.

Authorities said the shipments were confiscated, administrative violation records were issued against the transporters, and the products were destroyed in accordance with regulations.

In a separate inspection early on Wednesday along National Highway 22 in Cu Chi Commune, authorities intercepted 1,590 kg of chicken and chicken by-products being transported from Tay Ninh Province into Ho Chi Minh City for sale, officials said.

The transporter failed to provide documentation on the origin of the goods or veterinary safety certificates, and the entire shipment was later destroyed, authorities added.

The department also said officials had uncovered an illegal slaughter site at a house near Rong Tung canal, where four pigs weighing about 500 kg in total were being slaughtered without operating permits or quarantine certificates.

Authorities said the slaughter area failed to meet hygiene standards and posed food safety and animal disease risks, and the pork was seized pending further handling.

Tran Phu Cuong, head of the city's Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Animal Health, said inspection teams comprising veterinary, market surveillance, food safety, and police officials had been stationed overnight at entry points into the city to prevent undocumented meat products from reaching wholesale markets and commercial kitchens.

"With a large area bordering many localities, the transport of poor-quality meat products into Ho Chi Minh City remains complicated," Cuong said, adding that some transporters concealed shipments to evade detection and that stronger coordination among agencies and local authorities was needed.