Despite the harmful effects that these impurities cause, shrimp traders always find ways to inject impurities into shrimp to make them look more attractive. So how is the act of injecting impurities into shrimp handled according to Vietnam’s regulations?
Article table of contents
Individuals and organizations that inject impurities into shrimp will be administratively sanctioned according to the provisions of Decree No. 115/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government or may even be criminally prosecuted.
1. Administratively sanctioned:
- According to Clauses 5, 7, 8 and 9 Article 11 of Decree No. 115/2018/NĐ-CP of Vietnam’s Government, administrative sanctions for injecting impurities into shrimp are prescribed as follows:
+ A fine ranging from VND 3,000,000 to VND 5,000,000 shall be imposed for directly adding impurities to aquatic animals or using aquatic animals containing impurities for producing or processing foods;
+ A fine ranging from VND 50,000,000 to VND 70,000,000 shall be imposed for organizing addition of impurities to aquatic animals, preparing or processing aquatic animals containing impurities, or collecting, transporting and storing aquatic animals containing impurities for serving the food production, processing and/or trading, except the violation prescribed in Point a Clause 5 of this Article is committed;
+ A fine ranging from VND 80,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 shall be imposed for producing, processing or trading in aquatic animals containing preservatives which are banned or not on the list of permitted preservatives but the violation is not serious enough for criminal prosecution.
Note: A fine equal to 05 – 07 times the product value shall be imposed for the violation mentioned in Clause 5, Point b, Point c or Point d Clause 6 of this Article if the highest fine in the corresponding fine bracket is smaller than the product value multiplied by 07 but the violation is still not serious enough for criminal prosecution.
- Additional penalty: In addition to being fined, the violating individuals, organizations mentioned above shall also have the exhibits and instrumentalities confiscated, the food production/processing shall be partially or entirely suspended for a fixed period of 01 – 03 months and enforced repurposing, or recycling, or destruction of disqualified shipments of aquatic animals if one of the violations.
Thus, the administrative fine for individuals who directly inject impurities into shrimp ranges from VND 3 million to VND 5 million depending on the level and nature. However, in the case of an organization pumping impurities into shrimp, the fine increases many times, the fine can be up to VND 70 million. The reason is because any law violation that is organized systematically and methodically will cause consequences many times greater than spontaneous acts.
2. Criminally sanctioned:
Persons who inject impurities into shrimp can be prosecuted for “Offenses against regulations of law on food safety” according to Clause 119 Article 1 of the Criminal Code 2015 amended in 2017 of Vietnam. According to this regulation, if 05 to 20 consumers eat shrimp with impurities leading to poisoning, or that shrimp food harms the health of others with a body injury rate of 31% to 60%, persons who inject impurities into shrimp can be liable to a fine of from VND 50,000,000 to VND 200,000,000 or face a penalty of 01 - 05 years' imprisonment.
In cases where shrimp is contaminated with deadly impurities, the person injecting impurities into the shrimp may be liable to a fine of from VND 200,000,000 to VND 500,000,000 or face a penalty of 03 - 07 years' imprisonment; if the offense results in the death of ≥ 03 people, the maximum sentence can be up to 20 years in prison. Besides, the offender might also be liable to a fine of from VND 20,000,000 to VND 100,000,000 or prohibited from holding certain positions or doing certain jobs for 01 - 05 years.
Legal basis:
- Criminal Code 2015 amended in 2017.
Nguyen Phu
