HÀ NỘI — An inter-agency inspection team from Sóc Trăng Province on Friday visited an outlet of CP Việt Nam, a company at the centre of a viral post over serious concerns over the quality of meat.

Prior to the visit, CP Livestock JSC (CP Việt Nam) issued the statement saying that the allegations were “entirely false and fabricated,” after images circulated on Facebook showing poor quality pork and chicken.

The store manager of CP Fresh Shop at No.45 Triệu Nương Street, Châu Thành Hamlet, Mỹ Xuyên District, said during the inspection that the person behind the viral post was a former salesperson who left the company in 2023.

She added that the viral photos were taken around 2022, reportedly from a location in the neighbouring Hậu Giang Province, not in Sóc Trăng.

Earlier in the day, a social media user, who claimed to be an employee at a local food store in Sóc Trăng, posted on Facebook allegations about quality issues related to CP Việt Nam.

The account, Jonny Lieu, wrote in the post on Facebook that their real name is Liễu Quý Ngân, while screenshots included in the post showed Zalo chats of an account named Ngân Tech.

The post went viral and caused public concern, with more than 171,000 reactions and over 156,000 shares at the time of writing.

An inter-agency inspection team of Sóc Trăng Province visits Fresh Shop store in Mỹ Xuyên Township belonging to CP Việt Nam on Friday. — VNA/VNS Photo Tuấn Phi

Inspection visit

The store manager of CP Fresh Shop in Mỹ Xuyên stated that all pork sold at the shop comes with full documentation. Whole pigs are delivered to the store daily and then butchered on-site, and there is no pre-cut meat.

Initial inspection showed that the store complies with food safety regulations, as all pork products bear veterinary inspection stamps, and spot checks found the meat to be safe, with no chemical preservatives detected.

The store also presented valid invoices and origin certificates.

The inspection team includes officials from the Sóc Trăng Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, the Sóc Trăng Department of Agriculture and Environment’s Inspectorate, and the provincial police’s Economic Security Division. It looks into livestock and veterinary businesses in the locality, as part of the ongoing national campaign against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods.

Lâm Minh Hoàng, head of Sóc Trăng Sub-Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, said that local animal health officers regularly conduct inspections on the 52 licensed slaughterhouses across the province.

CP Việt Nam dismisses allegations

CP Việt Nam has issued an official response today regarding the case, saying that the allegations were false and caused damage to the company’s reputation as well as panic among consumers.

The company’s statement reads: “All the information posted by the mentioned Facebook and Zalo accounts is entirely false and fabricated, intended to defame and cause harm to the company. The images attached to the posts are unclear in origin and timing and do not depict CP Việt Nam’s products.”

CP Việt Nam is urgently working with relevant authorities to clarify the situation and take appropriate legal actions to protect its legitimate rights, and to address slanderous actions, the statement adds.

A company’s representative said: “We deeply regret that this incident has caused significant disruption and damage to our operations, and caused panic and anxiety among our customers, partners and the public. We sincerely call on all stakeholders to remain calm and seek out verified and balanced information.”

CP Việt Nam’s operations remain fully compliant with legal regulations, its statement reads, adding that the company remains open to addressing any concerns via its official communication channels and urges consumers and partners to refrain from spreading unverified information.

It also pledged to promptly publish the outcomes of its working process with the authorities regarding the case.

CP Việt Nam is a subsidiary of the Thai conglomerate Charoen Pokphand Group (CP Group), which operates across multiple sectors in agriculture and food processing.

The group established a Việt Nam representative office in HCM City in 1988. It currently operates around 21 factories across Việt Nam.

According to its official website, the company supplies over 6.8 million pigs to the domestic market each year.

Its CPV Food Bình Phước plant, with a total investment of US$250 million, went into operations in 2020 and shipped its first batch of exported chicken that same year.

According to its parent company in Thailand, CP Việt Nam posted a record revenue of approximately VNĐ93 trillion ($3.6 billion) in 2024. In previous years, this figure was approximately VNĐ80 trillion. — VNS