HCMC – Several major modern retail chains in HCMC and Haiphong have withdrawn and suspended selling canned meat products of Halong Canfoco JSC while awaiting official conclusions from competent authorities over an alleged food safety violation.
According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), supermarkets in Haiphong, including GO! Hai Duong, Intimex Hai Duong and the WinMart chain, have removed all canned products of Halong Canfoco, particularly its most popular product, Pate Cot Den Hai Phong, from their shelves.
The move follows developments in a criminal investigation by Haiphong police into the illegal collection, transport and trading of pork infected with African swine fever (ASF). On September 8, 2025, police detected two vehicles carrying more than 1.27 tons of slaughtered pork showing signs of spoilage, lacking origin documents and later testing positive for ASF. The pork was allegedly being transported for sale to meat processing companies in the city.
Expanding the probe, authorities found that pork samples taken from the vehicles and from cold storage warehouses of Halong Canfoco also tested positive for ASF. Police subsequently sealed four cold storage facilities containing around 130 tons of frozen pork.
On September 12, 2025, Haiphong police initiated criminal proceedings for “violating regulations on food safety.” By December 24, 2025, nine suspects were charged for allegedly supplying and trading food made from dead or diseased pigs under Clause 4, Article 317 of the Penal Code. Investigators said the suspects allegedly bought diseased pigs at low prices, falsified origin documents, declared local consumption to avoid quarantine requirements and transported the goods at night to evade inspections.
In HCMC, Central Retail Vietnam, which operates the GO! store chain, said it had temporarily removed all pork-based processed products of Halong Canfoco from its store shelves nationwide while awaiting final conclusions from authorities.
Similarly, MM Mega Market Vietnam said it had reviewed and withdrawn related products across its system and would continue to closely monitor the case while fully complying with guidance from authorities. Several other large retail chains in HCMC have also removed Halong Canfoco products and requested clarification and explanations from the supplier, while stepping up checks on all processed food suppliers.
The case has attracted public attention as Pate Cot Den Hai Phong was among the top-selling canned pâté products on e-commerce platforms in 2025.
Authorities said investigations are continuing to clarify the full scope of the case, including the volume of infected pork that may have been processed and distributed before being detected.
