Food hygiene inspectors will conduct quality raids throughout the country from January 1 as part of a crackdown to ensure food safety during Tet.

Deputy Health Minister Trinh Quan Huan said raids would continue until the Lunar New Year Day (February 14) and focus on traditional and popular products such as sweets, soft drinks, alcohol and meat products.

Ten inspection groups staffed with officials of ministries of Health, Agriculture and Rural Development, Science and Technology and Industry and Trade will check product labels and hygiene conditions in markets, supermarkets and restaurants and ask for food hygiene certificates as well as other product quality tracking documents.

“The demand for food soars during Tet, resulting in abnormal increases in imported products – legal and illegal – in both number and category,” said deputy director of the Department of Food Hygiene and Safety Nguyen Thanh Phong.

In addition to inter-ministerial inspectors, grassroots authorities will inspect food hygiene and safety in their own areas.

Food Hygiene and Safety Department statistics show there have been 147 food poisoning cases involving 5,000 people this year. Almost 4,000 of them were hospitalised and 33 died. Meanwhile, municipal health inspectors on Dec. 27 uncovered food hygiene violations at several Chinese sausage shops and producers in HCM City .

Fresh Chinese sausage (lap xuong), produced by San Pan on Binh Tan district’s Street 36, was found to have lacked product quality certificates. Dozens of packs were found without origin labels or were overdue. The shop was closed down temporarily while products were sent for testing.

In another case, Hong Ngoc Chinese sausage producer in Binh Tri Dong ward, Binh Tan District, was caught using unclean equipment.

Chinese sausages are made of pork, chicken or liver. They are a traditional dish in Vietnam , particularly for the Lunar New Year festival./.