Food Safety
It has been found that South Korean fast food store Lotteria was fined for violating food safety regulations in Vietnam as well.
According to local media reports, including Vietnam Net, Lotteria Vietnam was fined about 7.8 million won (US$6,821) from the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety in March last year due to violating food safety regulations, maintaining an unhygienic food processing section and operating without a certification of safe food.
Last year, 60 workers of a Danish company operating at the Saigon High-Tech Park, showed signs of food poisoning, such as stomachache, nausea and vomiting, diarrhea and dizziness after having a lunch consisting of beef, omelette, and vegetable soup, provided by Lotteria. A total of 60 workers had to be rushed to hospitals and be hospitalized. After the investigation, the Vietnamese health authorities concluded that they were food poisoned and fined Lotteria Vietnam.
In December 2014, the Vietnam Food Administration collected samples of food and beverage at the Lotteria store. Test results found that some samples was tainted with enteric bacteria which causes diarrhea, leading to a fine.
Lotteria is also stigmatized as a brand that received the highest number of administrative measures due to the violation of food safety and hygiene regulations among large franchised food stores in Korea.
According to the data from parliamentary inspections of government offices in 2015, Lotteria had a total of 170 administrative measures imposed to its major fast food stores across the nation that breached food safety regulations for five years from 2011, ranked first among 14 fast food chains in the nation.
Meanwhile, Lotteria has been targeting Southeast Asian markets, including Vietnam, in earnest after CEO Roh Il-sik was appointed in 2014. However, the company is struggling with sluggish sales at home and abroad and decreasing operating profits.