People in Ho Chi Minh City will soon be able to trace the origin of pork by scanning the package label with a smartphone app, according to a recent plan by the local Department of Industry and Trade.

A pork vendor at Go Vap Market in Go Vap District, Ho Chi Minh City

The plan, to be implemented by the Department of Industry and Trade, Veterinary Department, and High Technology Association, looks to track pigs from farms to slaughterhouses and markets or supermarkets.

Customers will be able to check the origin and journey of their pork by installing the free Te-food mobile application and use the app to scan a QR-coded label on the pork’s package.

Such information as where the pig was raised, when and where it was slaughtered, or from which wholesale market its meat was distributed will be made available to buyers via a simple scan.

15 pig-breeding firms and facilities, which can meet 100 % of the city’s pork demand with their nearly 1,000 pig farms, have agreed to the plan, according to Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the Department of Industry and Trade.

11 slaughterhouses and two wholesale markets, Binh Dien and Hoc Mon, which cover over 80 percent of the city’s pork supply, will be part of the program.

Customers will also be able to buy tracked pork at the four markets of Ben Thanh, An Dong, Hoa Binh, and Thai Binh, while 59 outlets owned by Co.opmart, Satramart, Big C, Aeon, and Aeon Citimart are also featured in the program.

Four convenient store franchises Co.op Food, Satra Foods, Sagrifood, and Vissan with over 200 locations in the city have also signed up as distributors of the tracked pork.

The application will be available for download from December 10, and the program will be officially launched citywide on January 1, 2017.

(Source: Tuoitrenews)