Nghe An: Over 4,000 establishments violated food hygiene and safety regulations.

(Baonghean.vn) –These are the food safety inspection figures for 2015 as stated below.Launching ceremony for the "Month of Action for Food Safety" in 2016.

Attending the ceremony were representatives from the Provincial People's Committee Office, the Department of Health, the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, the Provincial Police, the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Hygiene and Safety, the Health Departments and Health Centers of districts, cities, and towns; and representatives of food production and trading businesses located in Vinh City and surrounding areas.

Conference to launch and inaugurate the "Month of Action for Food Safety" in 2016.

In 2015, Nghe An province established 1,392 inspection teams, ranging from provincial to district and commune levels. These teams inspected 21,300 food production, processing, and trading establishments, of which 4,088 were found to be in violation. The total amount of fines was nearly 3 billion VND. Compared to 2014, the percentage of violating establishments decreased from 24% to 19.2%.

Last year, the province recorded 6 food poisoning incidents, affecting 229 people and resulting in 3 deaths. While the number of food poisoning incidents was lower than the previous year, the number of people affected increased.

The major challenges in ensuring food safety in Nghe An currently include the inability to control pesticide residues, veterinary drug residues, food additives, and preservatives in agricultural products such as vegetables, fruits, livestock, poultry, and seafood; the continued use of manual food processing methods that do not meet food safety and hygiene standards; and the ineffective control of substandard, counterfeit, and smuggled food.

An inter-agency inspection team checks food safety and hygiene practices at the Cung Le Hoi Restaurant in January 2016. Photo: My Ha.

2016 marks the 17th year that Nghe An province has organized the "Month of Action for Food Safety and Hygiene Quality". This year's month of action runs from April 15th to May 15th, 2016, with the theme "Continuing to produce, trade, and consume safe vegetables and meat". Through organizing this month of action throughout the province, Nghe An focuses on fundamentally addressing the current pressing challenges and concerns.

During the Action Month, relevant agencies at all levels will intensify the dissemination of legal regulations on ensuring food safety in livestock farming and vegetable production; strengthen inspection and monitoring to ensure food safety at establishments involved in the production, preliminary processing, processing, import, distribution, and sale of food, especially at wholesale markets supplying vegetables, meat, and agricultural products.

Thanh Son