The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is helping Vietnam implement several activities in response to the 2010 Action Month for Food Quality, Hygiene and Safety.
Speaking at a seminar entitled “Communication Work: 2010 Action Month for Food Quality, Hygiene and Safety” held in Hanoi on April 14, FAO Chief Representative in Vietnam Andrew W. Speedy said that the project, funded by the One Plan Fund, has drawn the participation of many countries, including Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
The project will help Vietnam build a qualified staff of food inspectors trained in the standards and methods of food inspection, serving as a core for the implementation of national-level inspection plans.
According to the Department of Food Hygiene and Safety (DFHS), at present, Vietnam does not yet have professional inspectors for food hygiene and safety and the work is conducted by 230 health officers.
Due to the lack of a system of precise and strict legal guidelines and sanctions, weak inspection work and poor awareness among producers and consumers, a variety of poor-quality foods still make it to market, resulting in a number of regrettable food poisoning cases.
The results of examinations by authorised agencies on vegetable hygiene and safety show that the fruits and vegetables exceeding the permitted limits for pesticide residue account for 5-15.5 percent and 11.6-13 percent respectively.
Food hygiene and safety efforts haven’t yet reached the expected results, partly because of limited investment. In the 2004-2008 period, the average investment in this field was only 780 VND per head per year, much lower than that of Thailand or the US .
Andrew said that Vietnam’s relevant ministries and agencies should coordinate in accessing and conducting food hygiene and safety inspection work in order to minimise the overlap during the implementation process.
He expressed his hope that in 2010, Vietnam will have 200 professional inspectors on food hygiene and safety. However, he said, the figure is too small compared to the real demand.
The 2010 Action Month for Food Quality, Hygiene and Safety will take place from April 15 to May 15 under the theme of “Securing commitments on businesses’ responsibility for food hygiene and safety”.
Under the theme, communication work will focus on heightening the role and responsibility of businesses in implementing food hygiene and safety regulations and improving the quality and safety of their food products, thus meeting the demands of both the domestic and export markets.
According to DFHS Deputy Director Nguyen Thanh Phong, during the action month, 11 inter-sectoral inspection delegations will do their work in 33 provinces and cities in order to assess the real situation of State management on food quality, hygiene and safety, discover and timely handle violations as well as propose measures to improve State management capacity in this field./.
Speaking at a seminar entitled “Communication Work: 2010 Action Month for Food Quality, Hygiene and Safety” held in Hanoi on April 14, FAO Chief Representative in Vietnam Andrew W. Speedy said that the project, funded by the One Plan Fund, has drawn the participation of many countries, including Canada, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, New Zealand, Norway, the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.
The project will help Vietnam build a qualified staff of food inspectors trained in the standards and methods of food inspection, serving as a core for the implementation of national-level inspection plans.
According to the Department of Food Hygiene and Safety (DFHS), at present, Vietnam does not yet have professional inspectors for food hygiene and safety and the work is conducted by 230 health officers.
Due to the lack of a system of precise and strict legal guidelines and sanctions, weak inspection work and poor awareness among producers and consumers, a variety of poor-quality foods still make it to market, resulting in a number of regrettable food poisoning cases.
The results of examinations by authorised agencies on vegetable hygiene and safety show that the fruits and vegetables exceeding the permitted limits for pesticide residue account for 5-15.5 percent and 11.6-13 percent respectively.
Food hygiene and safety efforts haven’t yet reached the expected results, partly because of limited investment. In the 2004-2008 period, the average investment in this field was only 780 VND per head per year, much lower than that of Thailand or the US .
Andrew said that Vietnam’s relevant ministries and agencies should coordinate in accessing and conducting food hygiene and safety inspection work in order to minimise the overlap during the implementation process.
He expressed his hope that in 2010, Vietnam will have 200 professional inspectors on food hygiene and safety. However, he said, the figure is too small compared to the real demand.
The 2010 Action Month for Food Quality, Hygiene and Safety will take place from April 15 to May 15 under the theme of “Securing commitments on businesses’ responsibility for food hygiene and safety”.
Under the theme, communication work will focus on heightening the role and responsibility of businesses in implementing food hygiene and safety regulations and improving the quality and safety of their food products, thus meeting the demands of both the domestic and export markets.
According to DFHS Deputy Director Nguyen Thanh Phong, during the action month, 11 inter-sectoral inspection delegations will do their work in 33 provinces and cities in order to assess the real situation of State management on food quality, hygiene and safety, discover and timely handle violations as well as propose measures to improve State management capacity in this field./.
