Vietnam is examining Chinese fruit imports as mandated by theDepartment of Plant Protection (DPP), triggered by the announcement thatChinese fruits shipped to Australia are allegedly contaminated with thehepatitis A virus (HAV).

On February 24, Sai GonGiai phong (Liberated Saigon) Daily quoted the Ministry of Agricultureand Rural Development’s department, saying it received a warning fromrelevant Australian agencies of 13 suspected cases of HAV after eatingfrozen mixed fruits from China.

The allegedlycontaminated fruits, imported by the Patties Foods Limited, were grownin Chile and China and packaged at a China-based factory.

Also on February 24, the Vietnamese Ministry of Health’s Department ofFood Safety and Hygiene asked the DPP to inspect Chinese fruit importsand prepare control measures when necessary.

DPPDirector Nguyen Xuan Hong said after receiving the warning, hisdepartment requested plant quarantine checkpoints at border gates,especially those along the northern border with China, to thoroughlyexamine any fruit imports from the country.

NguyenThi Ha, head of the Plant Quarantine Sub-Department of Region 7 coveringthe northern border in Lang Son and Cao Bang provinces, said recentChinese fruit imports to Vietnam were inspected in line with regulationsand did not reveal anything unusual.

It remains unclear whether Vietnam imported any of the aforementioned frozen fruits, Hong noted.

Earlier, foreign media reported that about 450,000 Australians couldhave consumed packaged fruits with Chinese-origin potentiallycontaminated with HAV. Eighteen people have been diagnosed with thedisease and experts fear more will appear as its incubation period canbe up to seven weeks.

More than 70,000 Chinese fruitpackages of the Patties Foods Limited are reportedly sold in Australiaeach week, cited Sai Gon Giai phong.-VNA