Checking goods in a shop in Đắk Lắk Province. — VNA/VNS Photo

The Ministry of Health (MOH) requests the strict handling of cases of smuggling, trade fraud, and cases of unknown origin products and enhance the inspection of food safety.

On Friday, MOH sent an official document to its agencies and city and provincial departments of health nation-wide requesting to strengthen the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and poor quality goods.

In the document, the ministry proposed strict handling of violations related to smuggling, trade fraud, goods of unknown origin, and production and trading of poor quality goods not ensuring food safety and hygiene, affecting consumers’ health.

According to the ministry, last year, the fight against smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit and poor quality goods achieved many positive results.

However, according to the summary report and forecast of the National Steering Committee against Smuggling, Counterfeit Goods and Trade Fraud (National Steering Committee 389), cases involving smuggling, trade fraud, counterfeit goods, and goods violating intellectual property are still on the rise and becoming more complicated, including food, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics.

To ensure consumer rights and people’s health, especially during the Lunar New Year (Tết), the ministry requested relevant units to effectively deploy tasks and solutions to proactively and promptly detect and prevent violations in the production, import and trading of counterfeit and poor quality goods, especially food, functional foods, food additives, pharmaceutical products and cosmetics, and smuggling and trade fraud.

Localities have to enhance label management and inspection on food origins and quality.

The ministry recommended that functional agencies focus on setting up plans and organising campaigns against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after Tết.

At the same time, units should co-ordinate with media agencies to enhance the dissemination of regulations and knowledge on preventing and fighting against the production and trade of unknown origin, poor quality and counterfeit goods, false advertising of products on social networks, and promptly warn of safety risks to consumers' health.

The ministry also suggested that the list of violating organisations and individuals must be public.

Relevant units and localities were asked to report periodically and irregularly according to regulations on the results of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after Tết, to the MOH Inspectorate before February 28, and to be submitted to the National Steering Committee 389. — VNS