Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc today chaired the new government’s first national meeting to tackle the heated food safety issue.

{keywords}

Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc today chaired the new government’s first national meeting to tackle the heated food safety issue. — Photo chinhphu.vn 

The prime minister stressed the problem could be solved “only with the engagement of the whole political system”.

Leaders of all 63 localities attended the meeting along with other cabinet members to work on measures and mechanisms to ensure quality food would be delivered to the residents, especially in the context of chemical contamination and smuggled food of unknown origin that was flooding markets across the country.

The food safety issue has been blamed on authorities, especially at the local levels, for not effectively handling violations. The lenient punishment for smugglers and producers of substandard goods had also failed to act as a deterrent.

“We have to make food producers, local leaders and state agencies clear on their responsibilities in supervision and inspection tasks,” the prime minister said.

“Only then can we create synchronised effort to ensure food safety.”

Four main issues will be tackled first, according to Deputy Prime Minister Vu Duc Dam - the abuse of the banned salbutamol to stimulate growth in pigs and make them lean, the excessive use of antibiotics in animal breeding, the large amount of fake beverages and dietary supplements.

 

Hanoi police seize meat with unknown origins

Hanoi’s environment police in co-ordination with the market management department have seized 3.7 tonnes of frozen meat of unknown origin at a foodstuff shop in Thanh Tri District.

At the shop’s cold storage unit, owned by local woman Nguyen Thi Thuy, police on Tuesday found a large number of four kinds of cattle parts. The shop owner failed to show valid papers for the goods such as the food origin and quarantine licence.

The shop, which was producing fermented pork rolls and selling cattle meat, didn’t have food safety certificates.

All seized goods will be destroyed, according to the city environment police.    

Also yesterday, the city’s transport police office reported that they seized some lorries carrying animal organs and grease to sell in the city.

At 4am yesterday, transport police stopped a suspicious lorry driving at a high speed on Highway 1A. They checked the vehicle and seized 400kg of animal organs for consumption in the city.

Lorry driver Nguyen Van Giang, 40, of the city’s Phu Xuyen outlying district, failed to show valid documents for the goods’ origin.

Ten minutes later, police discovered a lorry containing 400kg of cattle meat of unknown origin.       

At 7.30am the same day, a third lorry was seized, which contained 1.4 tonnes of cowhide. Driver Nguyen Manh Cuong, 28, had no valid papers and said he was hired to transport the goods to Hanoi.

VNS