The Ministry of Health has asked specialised institutes to standardise testing methods for detecting the cereulide toxin in milk and nutritional products. — Photo vietnamplus.vn

HÀ NỘI — Specialised institutes under the Ministry of Health are being told to standardise testing methods for detecting the cereulide toxin in milk and nutritional products.

The move, required by the ministry, comes after several countries recently carried out recalls of milk products suspected of contamination with cereulide toxin.

It is also intended to strengthen testing capacity in the monitoring of products circulating on the market, including milk and nutritional products, suspected of containing cereulide. 

Produced by the bacterium Bacillus cereus, the cereulide toxin may pose health risks to young children, according to voluntary recall warnings issued by several countries, including Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Australia.

According to a document signed by Deputy Minister of Health Đỗ Xuân Tuyên, the move involves specialised institutes including the National Institute for Food Control, the National Institute of Nutrition, the Nha Trang Pasteur Institute, the Tây Nguyên Institute of Hygiene and Epidemiology and the Institute of Public Health.

These organisations are also required to support provincial-level professional agencies upon request and in accordance with the specific conditions of each locality.

“The standardisation of testing methods must ensure the reliability of test results and the uniformity of detection limits, so that they can be effectively applied in food testing activities serving State management,” the document noted.

As for testing activities, Tuyên has also signed a document sent to People’s Committees centrally governed provinces and cities, calling for enhanced testing capacity and strengthened supervision of food products.

To proactively prevent food safety incidents and safeguard consumer health, the ministry has urged provincial and municipal authorities to instruct specialised agencies to urgently implement a range of coordinated measures.

First, local authorities are required to develop plans to monitor food products circulating on the market, with a focus on milk and nutritional products for young children, in line with warnings issued by the ministry’s Việt Nam Food Administration.

If products are found to fail to meet safety requirements, they must be promptly recalled and public warnings issued so that people are aware and can take precautions.

The ministry has also called for the consolidation and strengthening of local food testing systems to meet the requirements of food management, monitoring and post-market inspection.

Cereulide typically causes acute food poisoning, characterised by acute nausea and vomiting.

In more severe cases, it can affect the liver and poses particular risks to young children and individuals with weakened immune systems. The toxin commonly forms in carbohydrate-rich foods such as rice, pasta and noodles as well as milk and other dairy products.

To date, Vietnamese authorities have not recorded any cases of poisoning linked to these products.

However, proactive monitoring and the strengthening of testing capacity remain necessary to ensure food safety amid a market featuring a wide range of imported products. VNS