HCM City to tighten food safety management

At a recent conference on food manufacturers’ responsibilities, Lan  said food safety is important for socio-economic development of the city, which has seen an enhancement of health and origin inspections in the past few years and increase in the number of modern abattoirs and other facilities.

There would be more health and origin inspections, especially of smaller businesses and craft villages, which still use traditional manual methods, and authorities would throw the book at violations like poor health standards and use of unapproved chemicals and ingredients with unclear origins, she promised.

Inspectors would focus on markets and producers in less developed areas, especially pork producers, and strictly enforce rules on disposing of pigs injected with certain chemicals, Lan said.

All district administrations would dispatch more inspection teams to deal with unregistered street vendors, who she said pose the risk of food poisoning.

“We also need to pay more attention to large cafeterias, meals provided to workers at industrial parks, and areas with a high risk of mass food poisoning such as schools and businesses.”

Trieu Le Khanh, deputy chairwoman of the city’s Fatherland Front, urged the media and businesses to raise awareness of food safety at businesses and craft villages and remind them of their responsibility to customers rather than pursue profit.

The public should be educated on tips to avoid food poisoning – such as buying food only from safe sources – and provided with certain cooking tips, Khanh said.