Resolutely implement food safety and hygiene work

On December 26, at the Government headquarters, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam, Head of the Central Steering Committee on Food Safety, chaired a meeting to review the Steering Committee's work in 2014.

The collective kitchen ensures food hygiene and safety standards of SUMI Vietnam Wiring System Company Limited. (Illustration photo: Duong Ngoc/VNA)

According to the Steering Committee's report, 2014 is a year that records the Government's close direction on food safety assurance. The Government and the Prime Minister have issued Resolutions and Directives on this work. The Ministries of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, and Industry and Trade have issued Joint Circulars clearly assigning State management responsibilities for food safety among the three ministries; overcoming overlaps in inspection and examination activities and improving the effectiveness of inspection and examination work from the central to local levels; unifying processes and procedures, simplifying the confirmation of food safety knowledge for food production and trading establishments. Communication work continues to be promoted and maintained regularly, and forms of propaganda have been diversified, which has had a positive impact on subjects in changing their behavior to ensure food safety. Inspection and examination work has been implemented synchronously and drastically from the central to local levels, with the participation of all levels and functional sectors; the number of food establishments inspected and examined has increased while the number of establishments producing, trading, importing food, catering services, and street food has been clearly decentralized to each sector and level, limiting overlap in implementation.

In addition to planned inspections, ministries and branches have conducted many surprise inspections by sector, detecting and handling many violations of food safety laws. The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has organized inspections and assessments of establishments producing and trading agricultural materials and agricultural, forestry and fishery products nationwide. The health sector has established 5 food safety inspection teams to conduct inspections at a number of key locations where important events take place, ensuring food safety at some local festivals; organizing inspection teams at many establishments producing bottled water, producing and trading milk, food additive businesses, collective kitchens, etc.; administratively handling more than 3,000 establishments with more than 5.3 billion VND. The market management force has inspected and handled more than 9,000 violations of food safety, imposing administrative fines of over 31 billion VND. The national environmental crime prevention and control police force has detected more than 21,000 violations of food safety laws with 661 organizations and 1,300 individuals; handled 1,200 administrative cases, with a total fine of more than 12 billion VND. The control and handling of acts of trading and transporting smuggled livestock, poultry, and livestock and poultry products of unknown origin that have not been quarantined have been closely coordinated and thoroughly resolved by functional sectors.

However, there are still some shortcomings in food safety management, and the handling of violations is not yet resolute, especially in communes and wards; the situation of food poisoning is still complicated. Violations of food safety in the slaughter of livestock and poultry are still common, and the rate of violations of food safety conditions for those directly involved in food production and trading is still high. The use of food additives not listed in the list and industrial chemicals in food processing is still common, causing public outrage. The coordination between professional agencies and the press is not close...

To ensure food safety and quality during the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival 2015, the Central Interdisciplinary Steering Committee on Food Safety and Hygiene has set out a specific plan: reduce 10% of food poisoning cases during the Lunar New Year and during the Spring Festival compared to the same period in 2014; establish interdisciplinary inspection teams from the central to commune and ward levels to ensure that the number of inspected establishments nationwide increases by 10% compared to the same period in 2014; mobilize all communication channels to disseminate laws on food safety and hygiene as well as knowledge in selecting, preserving, processing and consuming to the people. The plan will be implemented from December 15, 2014 to March 30, 2015, nationwide.

Concluding the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam emphasized: Food hygiene and safety is related to many stages, directly affecting people's health, so all levels, sectors and localities must be determined and resolute in ensuring food hygiene and safety. The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, sectors and localities to promote the implementation of Resolutions on food hygiene and safety. Members of the Central Inter-sectoral Steering Committee and the local Food Hygiene and Safety Steering Committees need to enhance their responsibility and resolutely carry out their tasks and plans to ensure food hygiene and safety. Food Hygiene and Safety Steering Committees at all levels need to closely coordinate in food hygiene and safety; focus on completing guiding documents for localities.

The Deputy Prime Minister requested ministries, branches and localities to strengthen inspection and strict handling of violating establishments, including the participation of socio-political organizations: Farmers' Association, Veterans' Association...; strengthen propaganda and education to raise people's awareness of food hygiene and safety. Media and press agencies should increase the amount of time spent on propaganda on food hygiene and safety; praise the good aspects, condemn the limitations and shortcomings, especially the results of handling violations of food hygiene and safety should be made public for people to know.

In the immediate future, the Deputy Prime Minister noted that ministries and branches need to effectively implement the Steering Committee's plan on ensuring food safety and quality during the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival 2015, serving people to celebrate Tet safely, stabilizing production and business of food production and processing establishments.../.

According to dangcongsan.vn