An action month on food safety was launched on 15 April in various localities across the country, focusing on producing, trading and using safe food and preventing liquor poisoning.

Authorities seize alcohol without clear origin (Photo: VNA)

In Ho Chi Minh City, the municipal People’s Committee (PC) formed an interdisciplinary working group to perform the State management of food safety and conduct inspections on producing, processing and trading facilities.

Mr Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Head of the municipal Food Safety Management Committee, said the city will strengthen the control of alcohol’s origin as well as wine using industrial alcohol.

Meanwhile, Vice Chairwoman of the municipal PC Nguyen Thi Thu asked authorised agencies to strictly handle violations in the field.

Meanwhile, at a launching ceremony for the action month in Da Nang, the city’s PC called on all relevant local agencies to coordinate closely in popularising knowledge and law on food safety among the public, while implementing measures to prevent food and alcohol poisoning.

According to Nguyen Dinh Phuc, Vice Director of the municipal Department for Industry and Trade, the city currently has 300 small-scale wine producing facilities, only 3 of which have been licensed to make home-made wine and 2 others to produce wine with the production line.

The department has granted licences to 24 wine trading firms, and while wards and districts have also licensed other 428 organisations and individuals, he said.

Phuc added that the majority of the facility use backward equipment and technology, failing to meet food safety standards, while the city has faced many difficulties in tackling fake wine.

During the month, 6 inspection teams will be set up to check food safety in 12 provinces and cities – Ha Noi, Hung Yen, HCM City and Ben Tre, as well as Lao Cai, Lai Chau, Dak Lak and Gia Lai, along with Quang Nam, Da Nang, Ninh Thuan and Phu Yen.

The Viet Nam Food Association said the action month will focus on preventing the use of chemical substances and industrial alcohol in producing liquor, preventing the use of banned substances in breeding and using plant protection substances in vegetables and fruits.

In response to the action month, so far, different provinces and cities have conducted measures to ensure food safety and hygiene.

Lao Cai Province has set up an inspection team to check food safety in 10 communes in the Bac Ha, Bat Xat, Muong Khuong, Van Ban and Sa Pa districts.

All the communes are located along the border where ethnic Ha Nhi, Mong and Dao minorities reside, whose awareness on food safety is limited.

The inspection team also gave guidance on food safety to communes’ health stations and took liquor samples from liquor shops for testing.

In Ha Nam Province, during the first 3 months of this year, 134 inspection teams were founded, which checked nearly 1,500 food enterprises.  A total of 975 enterprises adhered to norms related to food safety, 518 others violated the norms and 72 were fined more than 148 million VND (6,500 USD).

(Source: VNA/ DA NANG Today)