On Tuesday, Da Nang People's Committee Vice Chairman Dang Viet Dung chaired a meeting to deploy a project to build an information management system to control the origin of food in the city.  The project aim is to help local State management agencies and consumers easily trace the origin of food products sold at local markets.

From early next month, the 1^st phase of the project will be implemented on a pilot basis at the Han Market.  It will focus on checking the origin of non-packaged food products sold at this venue, including vegetables, fruit, meat and fish.

In detail, the information management system to trace food origins will be created based on an application installed on smart phones to scan the QR-coded labels attached to the products on sale.  Local consumers will be able to install a QR-code scanner application on their smart phones to scan the labels and find out the origin of the food which they have bought.

The city’s relevant agencies will issue standards for the QR-coded labels which will be applicable to locally-based business establishments and food product distributors, as well as to other retailers at local markets and food stores.

The municipal Steering Committee for Food Safety and Hygiene will provide QR-code labels and stickers to the Han Market Management Board, and more information about the market’s traders will be added to them.  Importance will also be attached to increasing the checks and inspections of the traders to ensure all of them are attaching the QR-code labels and stickers to their displayed items.

Under the project, the city-based business establishments, including owners of local fishing vessels, will be required to attach labels on the packaging of their products before they sell them to local consumers.

Vice Chairman Dung highlighted the significance of this project in helping local consumers trace the origin of food products, and in facilitating relevant agencies to effectively manage food establishments and traders operating across the city.  He remarked that the project will play a significant role in helping the city to develop a more civilised and modern trade system.