Checking meat safety at market (Source: VNA)
Hanoi (VNA) - Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam has called for tighter food safety management during a meeting on December 25 in Hanoi to review food management in 2015 and set tasks for 2016.
The Deputy PM, who heads the National Inter-sector Steering Committee on Food Safety, hailed the efforts made by authorities at all levels and sectors in ensuring food safety over the past year.
He noted that while unsafe products are reported to account for just around 8 percent of all food available on the market, consumers cannot tell safe from unsafe.
Therefore, the Committee needs to seek way to help consumers avoid unsafe goods, he said, adding that more should also be done to improve legal framework and the supervision of all stages of food production to ensure food safety.
Communication work should be promoted to raise the awareness of safe and unsafe food among consumers, Dam added.
This year to December 15, more than 170 food poisoning cases were reported in the country with nearly 5,000 people becoming victims, a drop in both the numbers of cases and victims compared to the previous year.
Numerous programmes on supervision of food production nationwide will be conducted, with focus on the use of chemical substances and pesticide in food production and preservation, food safety in animal slaughter stations, especially in urban areas, according to the Committee.-VNA
