Nghe An: Launching a campaign to 'say no to unsafe food'

(Baonghean.vn) - The content of the emulation campaign was announced by the Chairman of the People's Committee of Nghe An province at the online conference to evaluate the results of implementing Directive No. 13/CT-TTg dated May 9, 2016 of the Prime Minister on food safety work in the province on the morning of October 21, 2016.

The conference was chaired by Mr. Nguyen Xuan Duong, Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee, Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee, and Head of the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety of Nghe An province; co-chaired by Mr. Le Minh Thong and Mr. Dinh Viet Hong, Vice Chairmen of the Provincial People's Committee and Deputy Heads of the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee. Attending the meeting were representatives from relevant departments and agencies, and 21 district, city, and town-level locations.

An online conference was held to review the results of implementing Directive 13/CT-TTg of the Prime Minister on strengthening state management of food safety in Nghe An province.

The report assessing the results of the first five months of implementing Prime Minister's Directive No. 13/CT-TTg clearly states that Nghe An province has made significant progress in food safety. Accordingly, from the provincial to the district level, the inter-sectoral steering committee on food safety has been strengthened, chaired by the chairmen of the People's Committees at all levels; the Provincial People's Committee issued Decision 61/2016/QD-UBND dated October 12, 2016, a pivotal decision stipulating the assignment of responsibilities and coordination of state management of food safety in the province.

The inter-agency inspection team of Nghe An province conducted an inspection at Big C Vinh supermarket during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

In terms of management, the province has strengthened the review and statistical compilation of food production, processing, and trading establishments; issued food safety certificates to 1,090 establishments, bringing the total number of establishments with food safety certificates to date to 3,353 out of 23,154 establishments; and signed food safety assurance commitments with 3,958 establishments.

Nghe An province has established 2 inter-agency inspection teams, 7 specialized inspection teams under various departments, and 223 inter-agency and specialized inspection teams at the district level. These teams inspected 757 establishments, discovered 639 violations, imposed fines totaling 1,577,728,000 VND, and destroyed 4,675 kg of animal products, 11,300 poultry, and hundreds of tons of food of unknown origin.

At the conference, delegates focused on analyzing and highlighting the current difficulties in ensuring food safety and hygiene. Accordingly, the inter-agency steering committees on food safety and hygiene in some districts, cities, towns, and communes have not been operating effectively. Some local government leaders have not fully recognized their responsibilities regarding food safety.

Furthermore, funding and equipment for rapid food testing, although supported, remain limited, affecting the effectiveness of the work; the staff responsible for food safety inspection at the commune level are often part-time and have limited knowledge; inspection and monitoring at the district and commune levels are ineffective, and the handling of food safety violations mainly involves warnings.

Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong clearly stated: Ensuring food safety is a top priority task of the Party and the State. and the entire political system.

Speaking at the meeting, Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong frankly stated: Currently, people's trust in safe food is still low. The basic reason is that there are few food production facilities in the area that adhere to safe production processes and techniques. In addition, functional agencies have not yet provided consumers with the addresses of food production and business establishments that ensure food safety for people to choose from.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee criticized several inspection teams, particularly those at the district level. Many localities and units, during inspections, discovered numerous violations but did not impose fines on any establishments, instead only issuing warnings. The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized the need to focus on building inspection teams with strong professional ethics and strict adherence to discipline and regulations.

The Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee emphasized: Ensuring food safety is a matter of national and local benefit, and it must be done no matter how difficult. All levels of government and localities must consider ensuring food safety as a regular task, incorporating it into their performance evaluations to ensure decisive leadership and avoid complacency; ensuring food safety must rely on the political system and the people – the Chairmen of the People's Committees at all levels must be accountable to the local people for food safety.

The inter-agency inspection team of Vinh City inspected and took samples at the Nghi Phu slaughterhouse.

At the conference, Comrade Nguyen Xuan Duong launched a campaign for all levels and sectors of local government to combat unsafe food, a movement called "People Say No to Unsafe Food." The campaign will run from the fourth quarter of 2016 to the end of the first quarter of 2017. Each sector will prioritize immediate and necessary actions. Local authorities will strengthen steering committees, intensify inspections, mobilize the entire political system to participate, and actively promote public awareness campaigns to report food safety violations and say no to unsafe food. The Department of Health – the permanent agency of the inter-sectoral steering committee – will regularly update and evaluate results, focusing on post-inspection evaluations – considering this a criterion for assessing the state management of food safety in localities and units.

Thanh Son