Food safety at ‘alarmingly’ low levels
Calling for new laws and more money to enforce rules, National Assembly (NA) members agreed at a meeting Wednesday that food safety measures in Vietnam are atrocious.
“Food safety regulations are being violated at an alarming rate in every sector: cultivation, husbandry, processing, and trade,” said representative Duong Kim Anh from Tra Vinh Province.
Strange fruit
Dang Vu Minh, chairman of the assembly’s Science, Technology and Environmental Committee, said Vietnam produces an average of 11.5 million tons of vegetables per year. But he said only 8.5 percent of the nation’s vegetable fields could be considered safe, according to government regulations on pesticide use, packaging and clean fertilizer. He said the rate for safe fruit orchards was just 20 percent.
Between 2007 and 2008, more than 90 percent of all fresh fruits and vegetables sampled b government agencies met food safety standards. However, in large cities like Ho Chi Minh City, agencies can monitor only 20-30 percent of fresh vegetables on the market, he said.
In 2008, 11.08 percent of meat and raw meat products were found to contain chemical residues, Minh said, adding that it was the highest level in the last five years.
Only 11.2 percent of food processing and vending establishments met food safety requirements and hygiene in 2008.
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