Nguyen Thanh Phong, deputy head of the Food Hygiene and Safety Department at the Ministry of Health talked about the issue in a recent interview granted to VOV newspaper.

VOV: Would you brief us on your major concerns after the month of action ended?

Mr Phong: We are deeply concerned about food poisoning in industrial zones and in kitchens of living quarters, schools and hospitals. Most food staples are produced in craft villages, small-scale production establishments and particularly households, which do not meet food hygiene and safety conditions in terms of equipment, working environment and human factors. In addition, fake food products and those of bad quality are still circulated on the market without strict scrutiny and due punishment. Illegally imported food products are smuggled into Vietnam across borders. Last but not least, the most worrying thing is the biological and chemical pollution due to the high content of chemical residue and preservatives contained in farm products such as fruit and vegetables, poultry and cattle meat.

VOV: What are your opinions when more violations were recorded during the month of action?

Mr Phong: Violations were mostly uncovered through inspection tours and the media. But I do not agree with the conclusion that more violations were detected during the month of action because these cases occur regularly. However, in the past month we mobilised all inspection forces and took bold measures against violations, therefore more violations were found. In addition, thanks to enhanced information dissemination, more violations were brought to light by the media.

VOV: Do you mean State management agencies, including your department, will not keep a close watch on the issue in the remaining months?

Mr Phong: I must say that our food hygiene and safety system is rather weak as it lacks a consistent network and personnel. For example, we do not have any State personnel working as inspectors in food hygiene and safety who mostly uncover violations. The Food Hygiene and Safety Department does not have the examining function. In fact, food hygiene and safety inspectors still take over this work in the healthcare sector. Vietnam has only about 230 healthcare inspectors, and each province has 3-4 inspectors on average. However, these inspectors have to do a great deal of work, such as examining medical clinics, checking private healthcare services and inspecting food hygiene and safety.

VOV: There were many serious violations found recently in Hanoi, such as pig brains soaked with chemicals at Kim Lien market, banh cuon (steamed rolled rice pancake) and banh duc (plain rice flan) mixed with borax at Big C supermarket, and cattle stomach soaked with chemicals in Kham Thien ward. How did you deal with these cases? And what’s the responsibility of your department?

Mr Phong: Violators were punished under the Government’s Decree 45, which deals with administrative violations in the medical sector. Hanoi’s medical inspectors, the Hanoi municipal Department of Health and local People’s Committees must take the responsibility for these happenings. 

VOV: The Ministry of Health has launched an annual month of action on food hygiene and safety for eight years. However, few changes have been made so far. Will the situation be the same in the following years?

Mr Phong: Positive results of annual month of action on food hygiene and safety are undeniable. This activity has helped reduce the number of food poisoning cases and find out causes of 87 percent of food poisoning cases. The term food hygiene and safety has drawn greater public attention than ever before. However, to increase the effectiveness of this activity, it is imperative to have joint efforts from agencies at all levels, as well as food producers, businesses and customers. In particular, the Prime Minister has issued Instruction 06 on intensifying urgent measures to ensure food hygiene and safety. The PM noted that heavy punishment will be applied to leaders of businesses, hospitals and schools who loose management work and let violations of food hygiene and safety to occur. This is a legal foundation to promote food hygiene and safety.