The quality of farm produce and agricultural products is expected to rise after stricter controls are imposed when the Food Safety Law takes effect on July 1.Food safety inspections would be carried out from point of origin to final destination based on international standards, said Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Department of Agricultural, Forest and Aquatic Products Quality Control Department Phung Huu Hao.
The quality of farm produce and agricultural products is expected to rise after stricter controls are imposed when the Food Safety Law takes effect on July 1.
Food safety inspections would be carried out from point of origin to final destination based on international standards, said Deputy Director of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development's Department of Agricultural, Forest and Aquatic Products Quality Control Department Phung Huu Hao.
Management responsibilities would be clearly split between central and provincial levels, and each agricultural sector would have its own specific standards, he said at a workshop held yesterday to review food safety management in 2010 and to discuss the 2011 plan.
A survey showed that the north was the weakest of Viet Nam's three regions in terms of management over animal slaughtering and sanitation, said deputy director of the ministry's Department of Animal Health Nguyen Hong Dan.
Most slaughterhouses are small and fail to meet hygiene standards, while many operate without licences," he said.
Minister Cao Duc Phat agreed that the slaughtering process played an important role in disease prevention.
A lack of control had led to outbreaks of diseases that had been difficult to manage, he said.
He urged the health department to establish a specialised food safety and hygiene bureaux to assist localities when necessary.
Regarding preservatives used on fruit and vegetables, Phat noted that pilot inspections in the central province of Thanh Hoa and the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang showed that many of production and trade establishments failed to meet safety standards.
There are around 200 preservative trading businesses, 79 production establishments and 29,000 shops that sell preservatives in the country.
Annual inspections revealed that 4-5 per cent of imported preservatives did not meet standards, said Director of the Plant Protection Department Nguyen Xuan Hong.
Current regulations were backward and not strict enough to worry violators, he said.
Other delegates at the workshop said that shortcomings remained in the management of farm produce and agricultural materials such as a lack of testing equipment and human resources, combined with inadequate training.
Management responsibilities would be clearly split between central and provincial levels, and each agricultural sector would have its own specific standards, he said at a workshop held yesterday to review food safety management in 2010 and to discuss the 2011 plan.
A survey showed that the north was the weakest of Viet Nam's three regions in terms of management over animal slaughtering and sanitation, said deputy director of the ministry's Department of Animal Health Nguyen Hong Dan.
Most slaughterhouses are small and fail to meet hygiene standards, while many operate without licences," he said.
Minister Cao Duc Phat agreed that the slaughtering process played an important role in disease prevention.
A lack of control had led to outbreaks of diseases that had been difficult to manage, he said.
He urged the health department to establish a specialised food safety and hygiene bureaux to assist localities when necessary.
Regarding preservatives used on fruit and vegetables, Phat noted that pilot inspections in the central province of Thanh Hoa and the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang showed that many of production and trade establishments failed to meet safety standards.
There are around 200 preservative trading businesses, 79 production establishments and 29,000 shops that sell preservatives in the country.
Annual inspections revealed that 4-5 per cent of imported preservatives did not meet standards, said Director of the Plant Protection Department Nguyen Xuan Hong.
Current regulations were backward and not strict enough to worry violators, he said.
Other delegates at the workshop said that shortcomings remained in the management of farm produce and agricultural materials such as a lack of testing equipment and human resources, combined with inadequate training.
Source:
Source: VNS, Agroviet
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