SPS VN works with German partner in providing food safety information for local firms
The Office of the Vietnam Sanitary and Phytosanitary Notification Authority and Enquiry Point (SPS Vietnam) on February 22 signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Tentamus Innovation Hub of Germany’s Tentamus Group, under which the two sides will cooperate in providing technical expertise on food safety control for Vietnamese exporters.
Accordingly, the two sides will support and coordinate with each other to effectively notify contents related to hygiene, epidemiology and plant and animal quarantine to Vietnamese manufacturers and exporters, while answering their questions in order to support Vietnamese products to meet technical standards and enable them to enter markets that require high technical standards.
The SPS Vietnam Office will launch a software system to provide notifications on contents and regulations related to hygiene, epidemiology and plant and animal quarantine from WTO members, along with information on the names of active ingredients whose residue levels often exceed the maximum allowable levels of some export markets to businesses.
It will also supply consulting services to businesses to help them get better understanding and meet the requirements of import markets.
Meanwhile, the Tentamus Group will provide a software system transferring information about drafts and notices of the Vietnam SPS Office from WTO member countries to Vietnamese exporters/manufacturers in an efficient manner. The group will also participate in seminars and conferences to provide information and share solutions related to issues of food safety and animal and plant quarantine.
Tentamus Group General Director Jochen Peter Zoller said that the firm aims to help supermarkets in the EU as well as retail chains around the world find safe products from Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.
He said that the group has developed a software system to update information on pesticide residue levels in markets to Vietnamese agricultural product exporters, thus helping them meet the requirements from these markets.
SPS Vietnam Director Le Thanh Hoa said that Vietnam, as a leading manufacturer and exporter of many agricultural products such as peppercorn, rice and coffee, has high potential to export fruits and vegetables to markets around the world.
However, the lack of information about food safety, and animal and plant quarantine measures as well as technical standards of importing countries have caused difficulties for Vietnamese producers and exporters, Hoa said, stressing that the partnership will assist domestic firms to adjust their strategies and activities in the field effectively.
Tentamus is a global testing company with presence in Europe, the UK, Israel, China, Japan, India and the US. The Tentamus Group is accredited and licensed to test, evaluate and consult on all human-related products.
