Handling the case of Nghe An workers' lunch containing maggots
(Baonghean.vn) - The unit that allowed maggots and maggot eggs to appear in workers' rations was the kitchen of Hitexvina Garment Factory, Thai Hoa town, Nghe An province.
On April 24, during lunch, workers at the Hitexvina Garment Factory, HI-TEX Company Limited (Nghia My Commune, Thai Hoa Town) discovered maggots and maggot eggs in the meat in their meals. The factory workers took pictures and reported it to the company's Trade Union and the Provincial Labor Federation.
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| Maggots crawling in the meat of a worker's ration. Photo taken by a worker. |
On April 25, the Thai Hoa town's interdisciplinary inspection team on food safety and the town's Labor Federation had a working session with the company. The content of the working session included: Inspection, verification of feedback and understanding of workers' opinions...
At the meeting, workers' representatives expressed their opinions: Food ingredients were not fresh; maggots and larvae were found in the meat, not ensuring food safety...
The representative of the collective kitchen business unit of Hitexvina Garment Factory, HI-TEX Company Limited, Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan admitted that the workers' reflection was correct, stemming from the kitchen's subjectivity during the processing.
Thai Hoa Town Labor Federation has requested HI-TEX Company Limited to use food sources that ensure food safety; ensure food safety in food processing and preservation; and require the kitchen to have a food sample storage cabinet.
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| Minutes of the incident and workers' feedback. Photo: Thanh Chung |
On the morning of May 3, the Thai Hoa town's interdisciplinary inspection team on food safety continued to inspect the factory's kitchen and made a record of administrative violations with 2 violations: Not implementing and not implementing correctly the provisions of the law on the 3-step food inspection regime according to Decision No. 1246/QD-BYT dated March 31, 2017 of the Ministry of Health; Mixing raw food and main food... The fine for business owner Ms. Nguyen Thi Loan is 6 million VND.
It is worth mentioning that during the specialized inspection of food safety at collective kitchens in factories and industrial parks by the Food Safety Department of Nghe An province (from February 19 to April 9, 2019), business household Nguyen Thi Loan was also fined 8 million VND for 2 violations: Not implementing and not implementing properly the provisions of law on the 3-step food inspection regime; not implementing properly the provisions of law on food sample storage...
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| Hitexvina garment factory has nearly 1,100 workers. Photo: Quang Huy |
During the inspection on the morning of May 3, business household Nguyen Thi Loan did not report to the Interdisciplinary Team about being inspected and fined by the Nghe An Province Food Safety Department.
It is known that Hitexvina Garment Factory currently has about 1,100 workers. Nearly 100% of the workers have lunch at the factory. Nguyen Thi Loan business household has been running the collective kitchen of Hitexvina Garment Factory for quite a long time.
In 2017, the Garment Factory's kitchen was twice requested to stop operating by the Nghe An Food Safety and Hygiene Department and the Thai Hoa Town People's Committee due to insufficient food safety conditions. And on May 22, 2017, a food poisoning incident occurred at the Factory, causing 70 people to be hospitalized.
Speaking to reporters, Dr. Pham Ngoc Quy - Head of the Nghe An Food Safety and Hygiene Department said: Given the systematic, continuous and prolonged nature of this business's violations, the Department will report to higher levels and continue to establish an inspection team to resolutely and strictly handle the case.
