Tightening control over food safety and hygiene on Tet

Tet is approaching, food safety and hygiene is the most concerned issue. The province’s agricultural sector has set up an action plan with many concrete measures to tighten control over the issue.

Contaminated food still existing

The local functional agencies organized monitoring over 128 production and business facilities with 1,266 samples of various agricultural products over the past time. As a result, there were 3 out of 481 samples of vegetables and fruits with the amount of pesticide residues exceeding the permitted level; 236 out of 413 samples of various fresh meat and 45 out of 157 samples of fisheries with bacterial contamination surpassing the permitted level.

 The local functional agency making inspection of a bananas trading facility in Thuan An town’s Thuan Giao ward

Provincial Plant Protection Sub-department’s inspection delegation also carried out an inspection tour of Thuan An town-based bananas trading facility using CO2,4D herbicide. The delegation penalized the facility with total fine of VND6.6mln and asked for its owner to destroy all chemical contaminated bananas.

In addition, the Sub-department inspected 57 pesticide trading facilities, 3 of which were found guilty for the trade of expiry pesticide. Provincial Animal Health Sub-department also carried out inspection tours of 82 animal feed and veterinary medicine trading facilities, 3 of which did not meet standards on quality as stipulated, sold products not belonging to the registered lists…

For the use of banned substances in animal husbandry, Tran Hai Ha, Deputy Head of provincial Animal Health Sub-department said that the Sub-department last year inspected 90 pig breeding facilities, 3 of which were involved in the use of Salbutamol. The situation of pigs with banned substances when taking to slaughter houses was still high, he added. Among them, there were 80% from Dong Nai. This showed that there were still a lot of unsafe pork products in the market.

Peak campaign implemented

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MoARD) has just mapped out a plan on implementation of a peak campaign on food safety and hygiene in the agricultural field from now till the 2016 Tet (Lunar New Year) festival with concrete actions. The main objectives of the campaign are to regain customers’ faith, maintain and expand export markets for key agro-forestry-fishery products.

Accordingly, provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development will further make propaganda work, raising public awareness of food safety and hygiene; strengthen inspection of compliance with the law among agricultural materials producing, trading facilities…

The sector will also tighten control over the quality of agricultural products from now until the upcoming Tet festival. Especially, the sector will pay attention to products associated with family meals like poultry and cattle meat, poultry eggs, vegetables, fruits, fisheries…, contributing to bringing locals a safe Tet.

Reported by Quynh Nhien-Translated by K.T