No criminal signs found in diseased-meat allegations against C.P. Vietnam: police

The Investigation Police Agency of Soc Trang issued this decision in a recent formal notice to C.P. Vietnam after investigating allegations brought forward by Lieu Quy Ngan, a local resident and former employee of the company.

Authorities stated that the company did not commit acts constituting a criminal offense under the relevant article of the Criminal Procedure Code, which governs food safety violations.

Previously, Soc Trang police launched an investigation in response to a Facebook post from the ‘Jonny Lieu’ account on May 30.

That post alleged that C.P. Vietnam sold pork and chicken showing signs of disease such as foul odors, red spots, and abscesses at its C.P. Fresh Shop in My Xuyen, Soc Trang.

Authorities responded with same-day inspections, led by an interagency task force, at the retail outlet on 45 Trieu Nuong Street in My Xuyen.

No evidence of expired or diseased meat was found then.

On May 31, the task force extended inspections to three additional C.P. Vietnam facilities across Soc Trang, again uncovering no signs of diseased meat.

However, they found that two retail outlets, No. 21 and No. 8, were operating with expired food-safety certificates.

Laboratory tests on meat samples from these shops returned negative results for African swine fever, classical swine fever, and porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (blue-ear disease).

Other inspections conducted by relevant agencies at various C.P. Vietnam slaughterhouses and business establishments across many localities in the Mekong Delta also found no evidence of diseased pork or chicken.

In a May 31 interview with Tuoi Tre (Youth) newspaper, Ngan alleged that from late 2022 to early 2023, he and his colleagues at the My Xuyen C.P. Fresh Shop observed meat being sold from sick animals.

Despite reporting it to store managers, no action was taken, prompting him to go public, Ngan stated.

C.P. Vietnam has repeatedly denied the allegations, issuing a public statement labeling the claims, posted on the 'Jonny Lieu' Facebook account and the 'Ngan Tech' Zalo account used by Ngan, as fabricated and defamatory.

In another interview with Tuoi Tre at his home on June 4, Ngan stated that he had provided authorities with sufficient documentation to support his claims, which he insisted were motivated by concern for public health rather than personal gain.

A representative of C.P. Vietnam recently confirmed that the company, including its branches, factories, and nationwide distribution network, had cooperated with authorities during the investigation by providing full documents like production records, slaughterhouse operations, and quality control procedures.