Food contaminated with toxic chemicals is widespread.

10.3% of vegetable samples had pesticide residues exceeding the permissible threshold, double the previous figure, according to the results of food safety monitoring in agriculture.

In August - September, the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development took 63 fruit and vegetable samples to test for multiple pesticide residues, and more than 22% of the residues exceeded the allowable threshold. The Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health also tested 120 vegetable samples taken at several markets in Hanoi and found 40 samples with pesticide residues. Of these, half were Malabar spinach, 14 were water spinach, and 5 were Malabar spinach.

Most recently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development announced the results of agricultural product monitoring in the first 9 months of the year, discovering that 10.3% of vegetable samples had pesticide residues exceeding the permissible limit.

Illustration: Anh Quan.

Mr. Nguyen Thanh Phong, Director of the Department of Food Safety, Ministry of Health, said that we need to pay attention to 0% of vegetable samples containing pesticide residues because it is more directly dangerous. Previously, this figure was only about 5%, equivalent to other countries in the region, but in the first 10 months of the year it was higher. This is a very important issue.

"Antibiotic residues do not have immediate consequences, but pesticide residues exceeding the threshold, especially pesticides, are very dangerous. Most recently, in Nam Dinh, there was a food poisoning incident due to pesticides in spinach, causing 48 people to be hospitalized. Fortunately, there were no deaths," Mr. Phong emphasized.

In addition to vegetables containing pesticide residues, authorities also recorded that 16% of meat samples contained the banned lean meat additive salbutamol; 7.6% of meat samples contained chemical and antibiotic residues exceeding the threshold. This shows that the risk of unsafe agricultural products still exists.

Regarding the situation of livestock farmers using banned substances and antibiotics for humans to mix into animal feed, Ms. Tran Viet Nga, Deputy Director of the Department of Food Safety, said that according to the Drug Administration, in recent years, no business has imported clenbuterol. However, the authorities still discovered this chemical residue in animal products. It is likely that this substance is smuggled and used in livestock farming.

Since the beginning of the year, the Ministry of Health has allowed the import of 3.5 tons of sabutamol (which is abused by livestock farmers as a lean meat additive). The World Health Organization also classifies sabutanol as an essential drug, important and necessary in the health system. The amount imported is based on the need for medical examination and treatment. The Ministry of Health has very strict requirements on import as well as production and business; it is difficult for it to be smuggled out, Ms. Nga said.

According to the Deputy Director of the Food Safety Department, it is difficult to use human antibiotics for animals. There are types of antibiotics for humans and types for animals. The type for humans is managed by the Ministry of Health; the type for animals is managed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development. Medicines for humans have stricter technical and quality requirements than products for animals. The Ministry of Health recommends that management agencies focus on inspecting and supervising livestock farms, establishments that sell plant protection drugs, and veterinary drugs.

In Vietnam, clenbutarol and salbutamol, along with ractopamine, are the top 3 substances in the list of 18 antibiotics and chemicals banned from use in livestock farming, issued by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development in 2002. Among them, clenbutarol is the most toxic substance, a substance that is very likely to remain in meat and can cause chronic and acute poisoning: heart rhythm disturbances, muscle tremors, bronchospasm, edema, muscle paralysis, high blood pressure... when using food with clenbutarol residue. In particular, it also causes cancer or cell mutation.

According to Alobacsi.vn