100% of imported fruits are quarantined, but people are still worried.

According to data from the authorities, the amount of fruit imported from Western countries is constantly increasing. To be granted customs clearance to enter the Vietnamese market, all imported fruit shipments are quarantined at border gates, but it is not possible to confirm with certainty that their quality is safe.

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100% of imported shipments are quarantined but…

According to information from the Plant Protection Department (PPD) - Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, there are currently 14 countries licensed to export fresh fruit to Vietnam according to the Government's plant quarantine regulations, including: India (1 type), Argentina (4 types), Canada (2 types), Chile (4 types), Korea (3 types), United States (4 types), Mexico (1 type), South Africa (3 types), New Zealand (8 types), Peru (4 types), Philippines (1 type), Thailand (24 types), China (4 types), Australia (38 types).

Mr. Le Son Ha, Head of the Quarantine Department, Plant Protection Department, said that before granting import licenses for fruits to Vietnam, these fruits are analyzed for pest risks to know which pests of the fruit can harm Vietnamese plants. The Department will send experts to that country to check the preservation, packaging and pest treatment processes, then grant import licenses for 12 months and the quarantine agencies at the border will quarantine each shipment to prevent pests from causing harm right at the border.

Regarding the information that imported fruits in Vietnam can be used for about 6 months if stored at the right temperature, Mr. Ha affirmed that in foreign countries such as the US, France, Australia, Poland, etc., there are many types of fruits, but the most popular is apples, which can be stored for a whole year because they have cold storage that can control the temperature and air as desired. When imported to Vietnam, if stored well, they can be used for several months, because some types of fruit have biological properties that can be stored for a very long time, not because of chemicals.

Mr. Ha also said that the quarantine departments have returned many shipments of plants at the border gates, but no shipment of fresh fruit has been returned. Because if pests are detected, quarantine officers will disinfect at the border gate. If there are three times of such quality failure, the import will be temporarily suspended. Recently, this agency has also temporarily suspended the import of Indian peanuts and Ukrainian wheat because many pests were detected that could affect the Vietnamese flora.

However, the regional quarantine departments at the border gates cannot guarantee the safety and quality of imported goods because although 100% of imported goods are quarantined, the departments only guarantee that "no pests and diseases can enter Vietnam through fruits", and cannot guarantee that the above fruits are safe because their job is only to... quarantine, while checking the quality of goods is another department of the Plant Protection Department and the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management.

Although the shipment has been issued a food safety inspection certificate, the section "shipment with food safety inspection and testing results" has not been checked (because there are no inspection results yet).

Once cleared, it is… accepted.

Mr. Nguyen Dinh Thong, Deputy Head of the Food Safety and Environmental Management Department (Plant Protection Department) said that when importing enterprises register for inspection at regional plant quarantine departments, first, officers must check the appearance, including packaging and labels (stamps, origin). After the appearance inspection is completed, if samples must be taken for quality inspection, only 0-10% samples will be taken. These samples are sent to inspection units, and results will be available after about 10 days. However, according to Circular 12/2015/TT-BNNPTNT, because they are fresh fruits, after the appearance inspection is complete, the shipments will be cleared through customs.

Samples taken for quality analysis will be notified later. If the quality is found to be substandard, the Department will send a dispatch to the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management. This Department will be responsible for notifying the importing country, and the Plant Protection Department will notify the importing enterprise to request that they be responsible for recalling, destroying or changing the purpose of use.

According to Mr. Thong, if there are 5 shipments of any type of goods that violate the regulations in a year, customs clearance will be stopped, the exporting country will be notified, the goods will be recalled, destroyed, and the purpose of use will be changed. It is known that in a year, there are usually only 5 shipments with pesticide residue exceeding the permitted level and high toxicity (after sampling and testing).

When we asked: “What will the Plant Protection Department do with such unsafe shipments?”, Mr. Thong replied: “According to Circular 12, because the fruits and vegetables are fresh, they must be cleared immediately. Once cleared, all risks must be accepted because the purpose is to block them from the root, and we cannot keep them waiting for the inspection results. Only the next shipment can be kept and wait for the analysis results before clearing them.”

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