Bags of ice on pavement

The HCM City Food Administration said the city has 193 ice making plants, but 43 percent of them do not meet requirements for water sources and equipment.

Many of the facilities did not test their water sources and did not have hygiene certificates.

In a recent inspection, 12 out of 22 samples were found to be contaminated with bacteria, including coliforms, feacal streptoccoci, pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Packaging and transport processes were also found to be unhygienic. Bags of ice were found to have been placed on pavements or near trash piles. Most of this ice was being delivered to restaurants in the city.

Nguyen Thi Huynh Mai, head of the HCM City Food Administration, said asides from administrative fines, names of offending ice facilities will be publicized for violating health regulations, and will face tighter inspections.

Reports from the WHO show that Vietnam has 9,000 deaths and 200,000 cancer cases each year because of contanimated water sources.

Duong Phat Chieu, of the HCM City Food Administration, said metal contamination is toxic and bacteria can cause various illnesses, including cholera and typhoid fever.