Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development Bui Ba Bong also said local authorities failed to ensure that eggs bought by these farms went through the quarantine system.

The study, commissioned by the ministry to review poultry farming activities since a two-year ban was lifted this month, discovered some farms bought eggs without certificates of origin.

In north Vietnam too, sales of unchecked chicken have increased. Authorities in six provinces seized last week and culled 60,000 eggs, almost six tons of chicken meat, and 6,000 fowls after their owners failed to furnish papers showing their origin.

Bong warned provinces that the risk of a new bird flu outbreak remained high though no new cases had been reported in the last 21 days.

Source: Thanh Nien, VietnamNet – Translated by Minh Phat