Vietnam announces chilled pork standards to control quality

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has announced national standard TCVN 12429:2018 on chilled meat for pork.

According to regulations, immediately after slaughter, the whole or split pig carcass is cooled and preserved to ensure that the thickest part of the meat reaches a temperature of 0 - 4 degrees Celsius within no more than 24 hours after slaughter.

Mr. Tong Xuan Chinh - Deputy Director of the Department of Animal Husbandry said that according to this standard, consumers will be able to use delicious and safe meat products because they are preserved according to the correct process and temperature immediately after slaughter, which will inhibit the growth of microorganisms and increase the nutritional quality and sensory of the meat.

Applying the standard with the process of keeping cool, cold, clean to avoid microbial contamination and maintain fresh quality takes 7 - 15 days.

Pigs that are slaughtered, processed and cooled properly will reduce surface water loss and prevent weight loss.

For businesses that apply this standard, Mr. Chinh recommends labeling products so that consumers can distinguish them from regular slaughtered products, increasing product value.

Mr. Nguyen Nhu Tiep - Director of the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Quality Management said that the pig farming industry currently accounts for about 60% of the value of Vietnam's livestock industry. Currently, pork accounts for the highest proportion (nearly 70%) compared to other types of meat in consumers' daily meals.

Vietnam is also one of the few countries that still uses warm meat immediately after slaughter. This type of meat is of reduced quality because it cannot inhibit the activity of microorganisms and enzymes, and it is very difficult to control food safety and hygiene.

Many test samples showed that microbiological indicators such as E.Coli infection exceeded the allowable level, and Salmonella infection (bacteria that cause typhoid) was still at a high level. The reason was that the slaughter, preservation, and sale stages had not yet applied the cold chain.

Applying the standard with the process of keeping cool, cold, clean to avoid microbial contamination and maintain fresh quality takes 7 - 15 days.

According to a representative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, standards for buffalo, beef, horse, chicken, duck, goose and swan meat will continue to be established in the next phase.

TCVN 12429:2018 standard was compiled by the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management, proposed by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development, and appraised by the General Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality, Ministry of Science and Technology.