Many company representatives in the food sector have said input materials play a key part in food safety and hygiene management, according to speakers at a conference held on June 19 on a pilot program supplying safe food in Danang City in the first half of 2018.

Food safety and hygiene supervision should be conducted synchronously from supermarkets to traditional markets 

The participants shared a common viewpoint on the risks of the food industry as problems might arise at any time from the transporting stage through to the processing and distribution stages.

Chau Quang Anh, director of An Thanh Ltd. Company, which processes ready-to-eat meals and makes deliveries from Hue to Quang Nam Province, noted that controlling chemicals in input materials is currently the main problem. 

It is challenging to determine whether the input materials are safe, and food processors must inspect them thoroughly to make sure they strictly comply with food safety regulations.

Addressing the event, head of Danang Food Safety Management Board Nguyen Tan Hai said that cooperation among food processors and relevant departments and agencies is urgently needed to ensure food safety regulations are strictly observed. 

Presently, over 3,000 food processing facilities operate in the city, making food safety management a challenge.

Danang imports fruit and vegetables from 12 provinces and cities nationwide and has signed deals with 10 localities, creating a large volume of food shipments to the city. The management board reportedly examines food samples weekly and will order a halt on imports if any food safety violations are found.

By the end of the year, the city will have completed its establishment and launch of a closed-loop supply chain for safe pork being delivered to markets, with the cooperation of Binh Dinh Province. 

The chain will begin at qualified households running pig-breeding farms in Binh Dinh Province’s Hoai An District. The pigs will be transported to the Da Son slaughterhouse in Danang and will finally be delivered to pork vendor stalls in Danang’s markets. 

Of the 35,000 tons of imported pork in the markets, 25,000 tons come from Binh Dinh Province.

In the February-May period, the same management board had inspected food safety at 27 facilities operating in the fields of seafood, fresh meat, vegetables and fruit. 

Some 21 outlets met the requirements, while the remainder were instructed to make improvements and managed to reach the given standards on June 18, said Hai, adding that these facilities will be promoted in the media to set an example for others.

SGT