Pork without quarantine mark is sold widely in Vinh city.

Pork without veterinary quarantine stamps is sold on many streets in Vinh city. (Photo taken on the morning of October 25 and 26, 2019). Photo: Thanh Phuc

Just a short stretch of Nguyen Trung Ngan Street next to Quan Lau Market, there are 7 places selling pork on the sidewalk. Most of these places sell pork from morning to noon. No stalls, no signs, no quarantine stamps, the pork is displayed on wooden boards, tarpaulins or on trays; some places sell whole pigs, some only sell a few kilos of pork already cut into small pieces.

Ms. Vo Thi Hong, a street pork seller on Nguyen Trung Ngan Street, invited people to buy: "Buy it, it's a home-grown pig, clean pig, you can tell by looking at the meat!" When customers asked: "Why is there no quarantine stamp?", she replied: "What's the point of a quarantine stamp, real people, real work. From morning until now, I've sold nearly a quintal of meat, a few more kilos will be gone."

Despite not having quarantine stamps and not ensuring food safety according to regulations, sidewalk pork stalls are crowded with buyers because they are advertised as "home-raised pigs" or "country pigs". Photo: Thanh Phuc

Ms. Trinh Thi Loan, a customer, said: “Pork is the most popular and common dish, so even during the epidemic, we cannot “avoid” pork. I chose to buy meat here because of our long-standing relationship. When I cooked the meat, the broth was clear, odorless, and delicious, so I bought it. I just trust the seller, but I don’t know if it is clean and safe.”

Along the roads such as Kim Dong, Bui Huy Bich, Dinh Le, Le Viet Thuat, Thanh Thai...; intersections of streets, alleys, densely populated areas, sidewalk stalls selling pork of unknown origin and origin are still rampant despite the African swine fever epidemic. Most of the vendors are people from districts such as Thanh Chuong, Nam Dan, Hung Nguyen.

Even though there is no quarantine or food safety certification, these meat stalls are still crowded with buyers based on trust, acquaintances, and the promotion of "home-grown" and "countryside pigs."

Authorities inspect and educate traders in markets about safe pork trading during the complicated outbreak of African swine fever. Photo: Thanh Phuc

While African swine fever is breaking out and spreading widely, the slaughtering, transportation and trading of pork of unknown origin and source is rampant on the sidewalks in Vinh city, causing many consequences: Being a factor in spreading swine fever; affecting the health and food safety of consumers...

Discussing this issue, Mr. Nguyen Van Huong - Deputy Director of the Market Management Department said: "The Market Management Department and functional departments of Vinh city have established a team to inspect and supervise the pork business in general and sidewalk pork in particular. However, due to the small force, the supervision is not regular and continuous. In the near future, the team will strengthen inspection, handling and rectification of sidewalk pork business, ensuring the rights of consumers."

There are two violations in the sidewalk pork business: First is the act of avoiding veterinary inspection, meat of livestock is not controlled by slaughter control stamp. Second is the violation of regulations on general conditions to ensure food safety in production, business and food preservation.

The above violations may be handled according to Clause 6, Article 20 of Decree No. 90/2017/ND-CP on administrative sanctions in the veterinary field and administrative sanctions according to Clause 5, Article 9 of Decree No. 115/2018/ND-CP dated September 4, 2018 on violations of regulations on general conditions to ensure food safety in food production, trading and preservation.

Thanh Phuc