Fake Hiup milk case: Consumers upset about being deceived

The Hiup milk case has just been determined by authorities to be fake and is attracting public attention, especially from parents who once trusted it to buy for their children.

Hiup - a product advertised as milk that supports height growth with a declared composition of 37 indicators. However, in reality, this product only has 15 - 17 ingredients and many indicators do not reach 70% as declared, considered fake. The subjects used compounds containing calcium in the Hiup product that did not ensure the content according to the declared standards.

To carry out the act of producing and trading counterfeit goods, the subjects established 20 companies, but all were led by 3 subjects, in which the name of Z Holding Joint Stock Company was used to manage the entire system of companies. The company that produced this product also used fake inspection certificates to provide to the authorities.

Market management forces inspect a milk powder store in Buon Ho town.

The police investigation results determined that the fake Hiup milk production line was extremely large, with a revenue of up to 6,700 billion VND. Of which, the factory price of each can of milk was 87,800 VND but was sold on the market at an average price of more than 546,000 VND/can (nearly 7 times the original price).

Regarding this incident, the Investigation Police Agency ( Ministry of Public Security ) has initiated a case of “Violating accounting regulations causing serious consequences” and “Producing and trading in counterfeit food products” occurring at Z Holding Joint Stock Company and related agencies and organizations. At the same time, it has prosecuted and temporarily detained 10 defendants who are leaders and officials of many companies in this network.

Ms. NTP (Krong Buk district) said that she learned about this type of milk through advertisements by famous actors and MCs on social networks, so she bought ready-to-mix Hiup milk (180 ml/box) for 950,000 VND/carton for her two children (5 and 7 years old) and her nephew who is in grade 12 to drink. In April 2025, when information about many types of fake milk was discovered on the market, Ms. P. also raised doubts about the quality of Hiup milk, but was reassured by the owner of the milk store, who said that the manufacturing company had committed that all Hiup products met the quality standards according to current laws.

“On average, my children and grandchildren drink three cartons of milk each month. Although I have not seen any side effects on my children, I am still very worried. I hope that the authorities will investigate, assess and soon come to a conclusion about the impact of milk on children’s health,” said Ms. P.

Similarly, Ms. NAĐ. (Buon Ho town) expressed concern: “The fact that a type of fake milk is widely available online and openly advertised shows the current situation of “mixing good and bad” in the nutritional food market, especially products for children. We, the people, hope that the authorities will strengthen inspection and control to promptly detect and strictly handle violations to protect the rights and health of consumers.”

Head of Dak Lak Market Management Department Vuong Minh Son said that immediately after receiving information that Hiup milk products were identified as counterfeit by the investigation agency, the Department directed market management teams to urgently deploy professional measures and increase inspection of Hiup milk products sold and circulated in the area. Initial inspections showed that there were two stores in Buon Ho town that were selling Hiup milk products. However, after learning that Hiup milk was counterfeit, these stores returned the goods to the distributor and are no longer displaying this type of milk.

Source: https://baodaklak.vn/kinh-te/202506/vu-sua-hiup-gia-nguoi-tieu-dung-buc-xuc-vi-bi-lua-doi-3521667/