A Vietnamese condiments maker with a ten-year pollution record has been forced to return a community health award amid public outrage, reports said Friday.
Vedan, which manufactures a variety of products including monosodium glutamate, received three "Top 100 safe products for community health in 2009" certificates on Vietnam's Entrepreneur Day, on October 13.
But organisers rescinded the award following a public protest and the company returned it on Thursday, the country's Tien Phong newspaper said.
Last year, Vedan was found to have been discharging large-scale sewage into the Thi Vai river in Dong Nai province for more than 10 years.
The certificates, awarded by a department under the ministry of science and technology, shocked the public in the communist nation.
"Vedan's receiving of this award is unfair, after it had caused a... disaster for Vietnam's environment," wrote reader Tran Huu Tuan on the popular VNExpress news website, while Ng Linh considered the honour "a slap on Vietnamese consumers".
The ministry has set up a team to investigate the award while a senior ministry of health official was suspended for having signed the certificates, Thanh Nien Weekly said.
A co-organiser of the award said it was "a mistake" to honour Vedan, Thanh Nien said.
Reports said at least 11,500 farmer families affected by Vedan's sewage discharge have claimed compensation but negotiations are in deadlock.
Authorities have admitted that Vietnam's environment has been seriously polluted by more than a decade of rapid industrialisation.
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