Kera vegetable candy from “Basket Sisters” found to contain sweetener Sorbitol

In response to information about excessive advertising of the Supergreens Gummies (Kera vegetable candy) supplement product on social platforms, on March 6, the Food Safety Department issued Official Dispatch No. 396/ATTP-PCTTR to the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Department requesting an urgent inspection of the operations of the Sisters Group Joint Stock Company trading this product in Ho Chi Minh City.

And Official Dispatch No. 398/ATTP-PCTTR sent to Dak Lak Provincial Department of Health urgently directed the inspection of compliance with conditions during the production process for Kera vegetable candy products.

Production of Kera vegetable candy products at Asia Life Joint Stock Company. Delegations from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety and the Dak Lak Department of Health inspected the above facilities, took product samples and sent them to the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene for testing.

On March 19, the National Institute for Food Safety Control released initial test results. Accordingly, the indicators for protein, sugar, fat, and total energy content were basically consistent with the product's self-declaration.

The Food Safety Department requested the National Institute for Food Safety Control to test some additional substances and safety indicators.

According to the results of the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene reported to the Food Safety Department, the indicators of protein, sugar, fat, and total energy content are basically consistent with the self-declaration of the product, and the safety indicators of microorganisms, fungi, heavy metals, etc., are all undetected or within safe limits.

However, the National Institute for Food Safety and Hygiene also discovered that the product contained Sorbitol, a sweetener, at a content of 33.4 g/100 g, but it was not listed on the product label as required.

The Food Safety Department has sent an official dispatch to the Ho Chi Minh City Food Safety Department and the Dak Lak Health Department requesting that violations be handled in accordance with regulations.

Previously, Kera vegetable candy products were advertised by some famous social media accounts, such as Quang Linh Vlogs or Hang Du Muc. The product is a collaboration between Chi em rot Group Corporation and the girl "Ken Rau" (Miss Nguyen Thuc Thuy Tien).

The online community pointed out some signs that this advertising activity may be untrue, “exaggerating” the product’s uses and ingredients. In response to strong public reactions, Thuy Tien deleted the advertisement on her personal page and apologized to the public. Quang Linh Vlogs and Hang Du Muc also made reassuring statements.