Implementing the Action Plan for Food Safety Year in Agriculture 2015

(Baonghean.vn) - On the afternoon of February 6, under the chairmanship of Minister Cao Duc Phat, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development held an online conference to deploy the action plan for the year of food hygiene and safety in the agricultural sector in 2015. At the Nghe An bridge, comrade Ho Ngoc Sy - Member of the Provincial Party Standing Committee - Director of the Provincial Department of Agriculture and Rural Development chaired.

The goal set out in the action plan for the Year of Food Safety in the Agricultural Sector in 2015 by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is to create a clear change in ensuring food safety for agricultural, forestry and fishery products, focusing on vegetables, meat and farmed aquatic products.

Accordingly, the percentages of samples monitoring pesticide residues in vegetables exceeding the threshold; the percentages of samples monitoring chemical and antibiotic residues in livestock, poultry and aquaculture meat products; and the percentages of samples monitoring microbiological contamination in livestock and poultry meat exceeding the threshold all decreased by 10% compared to 2014.

Delegates attending the conference at Nghe An bridge point

To achieve that goal, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed the need to do a good job of organizing the implementation of policies and laws; propagating, mobilizing and providing field guidance on safe food production and trading; doing a good job of inspection, supervision and monitoring, strictly handling according to the law violations such as circulation, trading of chemicals, banned antibiotics, transporting animals and animal products of unknown origin, not ensuring veterinary hygiene and food safety...

Speaking at the conference, Minister Cao Duc Phat stated: currently, although the authorities have made many efforts, the work of ensuring food safety and hygiene nationwide is facing many challenges. Food contamination and toxic chemical residues in agricultural products still exist; food of unknown origin, smuggled goods, and poor quality still exist...

The reason for the above situation is due to ineffective control, specifically the inability to control small-scale food production and processing, the limited capacity of some departments in the food safety management system... In order to gradually overcome the shortcomings and inadequacies in the current period, in addition to the above-mentioned solutions, localities and relevant departments need to have measures to organize forces, improve the capacity of inspection, examination and testing staff, ensuring sufficient capacity to perform the task. At the same time, invest in and supplement equipment for this activity, especially rapid testing equipment at the scene. It is necessary to strengthen supervision according to appropriate methods, increase the frequency of supervision in a scientific and systematic manner, the higher the risk of products, the higher the frequency of supervision, not only to detect violations in each shipment but more importantly, to detect the transportation line to solve the problem at its root.

On this occasion, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development also sent an official dispatch to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of provinces and cities on strengthening food safety assurance for agricultural, forestry and fishery products during the Lunar New Year and upcoming festival season.

Phu Huong