Market surveillance officers have found a company in Hanoi using toilet paper to produce face masks - PHOTO: PLO

Specifically, Viet Ham Co., Ltd, in Minh Cuong Commune of Thuong Tin District used toilet paper to replace the antibacterial layer typically used in surgical masks, the local media reported.

Hoang Dai Nghia, head of the working team, noted that the team had confiscated all the masks at the company.

The Hanoi Market Surveillance Agency will work with law enforcement agencies to file charges against the producer and impose the highest possible penalties, Nghia added.

The company had earlier registered as a printer and napkin producer, not as a medical equipment producer.

The inspection of Viet Ham Co., Ltd, was conducted after the Hanoi Market Surveillance Agency found and seized 143,000 masks made from toilet paper being sold by Chu Ngoc Tu, a trader from Lang Son Province.

As the demand for face masks, hand sanitizers and other medical equipment used to prevent the spread of the coronavirus is rising, the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance, under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, has asked its subordinates to inspect all producers of these products.

Those producing and trading in counterfeit, imitation and poor-quality products and products with unclear origins and those engaged in price gouging will be subject to heavy fines.

The directorate has also advised consumers to buy face masks from reputable outlets.

Over the past 11 days, market surveillance agencies have handled more than 4,200 violations related to the production and trading of masks. SGT