VietNamNet Bridge – HCM City authorities should closely monitor sales of food and food additives and food processing to ensure safety and hygiene during the upcoming festive season, the Minister of Health has said.

A ministry team headed by Tien checked shops selling additives at Kim Bien Market in District 5 and kitchens that prepare meals for workers and students.

It found many violations of regulations related to distribution, storage and preservation.

Luu Thi Kim Nhung, head of the market administration, said none of the 17 shops selling food additives had equipment to store them at 15-20 degree Celsius as regulated.

The distribution process of food additives failed to ensure safety and hygiene, she admitted.

No shop selling additives in District 5 stored them at the appropriate temperature, Thai Thanh Hai, head of the district's economic management office, said.

The sellers had very little knowledge of chemicals, he added.

Huynh Le Thai Hoa, head of the city Food Safety and Hygiene Division, said though the number of cases of food poisoning had declined to eight this year from 13 last year, the number of victims was up.

Nearly 850 people had been hospitalised due to food poisoning compared with 734 people last year.

The quality of meals provided to workers should be checked more frequently to stop the large-scale food poisoning cases from occuring in the city, Hoa said.

Hua Ngoc Thuan, deputy chairman of the city People's Committee, said the committee had ordered eight export processing zones and industrial parks to set up kitchens to cook meals for their workers.

Most businesses in these places served their workers ready-made meals that were not of good quality or even hot, leading to mass food poisoning, he said.

The companies never took responsibility in such cases and blamed the food suppliers, he said.

The city was carrying out a pilot project to develop safe-food chains that will ensure food quality at all stages – like livestock breeding, processing, and distribution – Thuan said.

Around 80 per cent of the farm produce and food consumed in the city comes from other cities and provinces.

The project costing nearly VND60 billion (US$2.9 million) targeted half the food consumed in the city going through the chains by 2015, he said.

Four such chains have been certified so far, one with a capacity of 800,000 eggs a day, two for vegetables and fruits with a combined capacity of two tonnes a day, and one for pork with a capacity of two tonnes.

The Ministry of Health considers setting up the chains an essential and comprehensive measure to ensure food safety and hygiene in the city.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News