Buyer, distributor in dispute as maggots found in milk in southern Vietnam
Buyer, distributor in dispute as maggots found in milk in southern Vietnam
A consumer protection association in southern Vietnam has failed to resolve a dispute between a local dairy dealership and one of its buyers, who found maggots in nearly a dozen milk boxes it distributed.
On November 15, 2015, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Le, who runs a grocery store in Binh Phuoc Province, bought 40 cardboard boxes of TH True Milk from a dealership, Quang Vinh Phat, for VND12.5 million (US$558).
The products were still two months from the expiry dates at the time of purchase, according to the buyer.
Le then sold four four-box packs to a customer, who came back a few days later to complain about the product.
The buyer said the milk boxes in two out of the four packs she had bought were distorted from inside, while the milk released a foul smell and contained maggots.
Le reported the case to the province’s consumer right protection association, which held a meeting to resolve the case on Monday.
At the meeting, a representative from the Quang Vinh Phat dealership said it is only in charge of distributing the products, so the manufacturer, TH True Milk, headquartered in the north-central province of Nghe An, should be held responsible.
The dealership also suggested compensating 50 percent of the value of 40 cardboard boxes of the milk for Le, but she turned down the offer.
The consumer association eventually decided to transfer the case to a higher-level body for consideration.
The maggot-in-milk dispute has occurred at a time when the public has yet to forget similar cases in products produced by Tan Hiep Phat Group, which has repeatedly received quality complaints over its energy drinks and bottled herbal teas.
A consumer was jailed for seven years in December, for trying to ‘blackmail’ the drink maker using a bottle containing a fly.
The public has therefore spoken highly of Le’s decision to contact the consumer protection association in the first place, instead of opting for a compensation request directly from the manufacturer.
TH True Milk has so far made no official comment on the incident in Binh Phuoc.
