Hanoi ups specialised inspections on food safety
Testing chemical residues in vegetables, fruit and other foodstuff sold at wet markets, supermarkets and restaurants will be enhanced in Hanoi this year as part of the city’s efforts to stop unsafe food being consumed, said Deputy Director of the municipal Department of Health Tran Van Chung.
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Following tests during the inspections, unsafe food will be confiscated, creating a radical change in public compliance with food safety and hygiene regulations, he said at a meeting with the press on March 20.
Along with enhancing state management by setting up food safety watchdogs and inspection groups at grassroots levels, the city will develop food safety production and supply chains and join hands with localities in food safety chain management.
Chung also pointed out that poor awareness of both food businesses and consumers of the issue as well as a lack of involvement of local authorities hamper the fight against unsafe food.
In 2017, the same campaign was carried out in the city and food safety tests were conducted on 1,100 samples, 85 of which tested positive for chemical residues and forbidden chemical ingredients. Authorities detected 26,310 production units violating food safety regulations and punished 7,221 of them.
At present, Hanoi has 60 farm-to-fork food chains and has been working with other provinces to manage vegetable farming to VietGAP standards to ensure safe food supply for its citizens.
