VOV.VN – Food safety during the Tet holiday is awaiting Decree 178 for stronger sanctions to strictly handle violating establishments.
With just over a month until Tet, production and business facilities are rushing to prepare goods for the people. This year, food hygiene and safety issues have early drawn the attention of authorities and localities, with some areas launching vigorous inspection campaigns. However, whether consumers are truly safe remains uncertain, as the current handling of unsafe or contaminated food acts lacks sufficient deterrence.
Interdisciplinary inspection teams will strengthen food safety inspections during the 2013 Lunar New Year (Photo: Thanh Niên)
It must be mentioned that Decree 178, taking effect on December 31, stipulates administrative fines several times heavier than the current Decree 91. Additionally, individuals and organizations involved in the production, transportation, and sale of unsafe or contaminated food will face various supplementary penalties. For serious violations like the "29 Hanoi rice wine" case, sanctions under the Criminal Code will also apply. But can consumers feel reassured? That question remains unanswered, as even stricter regulations may still fall short of deterring violations. The core issue lies in the capacity for inspection, detection, and enforcement.
From now until the end of the year, especially near Tet, food poisoning incidents are likely to occur, and there is no guarantee that serious cases like the death of six people in Quang Ninh due to industrial alcohol used in rice wine will not happen again.
Visiting wholesale and retail markets now reveals shelves filled with colorful Tet candies and snacks, most of which lack clear origin labels. Many processed Tet goods—whether domestically produced or imported—also lack traceability, with some made from animals that died from disease or unknown causes, some already rotting, and others containing banned or toxic substances. Agricultural products like meat, seafood, fruits, and vegetables are also unsafe due to violations in farming practices.
Over the past month, authorities discovered that around 10% of chicken and pork samples contained banned chemicals used in animal farming. Similarly, 10% of imported fruits and vegetables were found to have pesticide residues exceeding permissible limits, including white radish, carrots, and mandarins. It's worth noting that during this time, Vietnam imported nearly 700,000 tons of plant-origin goods, but authorities only managed to test 96 samples.
Every year, we respond early and make loud calls to action, and this year new, stronger regulations are coming. Yet, food safety issues remain problematic, and as Tet approaches, the challenges only grow. When serious incidents occur, many agencies speak up, but none take clear responsibility. From production or import to consumer consumption, food passes through the oversight of multiple ministries, yet no one is held accountable. It's unreasonable to keep asking consumers to be “smart” while inspection efforts focus narrowly on pesticides, slaughterhouses, and aquaculture facilities—leaving gaps in seed and breed quality control and import safety.
This Tet, nine central-level interdisciplinary teams are scheduled to inspect 18 key provinces and cities. Localities will also form inspection teams targeting food production and business establishments, continuing their efforts through February 2014.
However, focused inspections alone are not enough, and more concerning is that violations are not being dealt with strictly—especially at the commune and district levels, where up to 80% of violating establishments often go unpunished for various reasons.
Food safety during Tet 2014 depends on the stronger sanctions under Decree 178. But if enforcement remains ineffective, problems will persist. Violations must be strictly handled to serve as a deterrent. With adequate personnel, tools, equipment, and funding, authorities and localities have no excuse not to act—otherwise, consumers cannot be expected to remain “smart.”
Source: http://vov.vn