He made the announcement while presiding yesterday’s meeting on food safety management in the city with the presence of representatives from the departments of Food Safety, Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, Department of Industry and Trade, Department of Health, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Education and Training, Department of Information and Communications of Ho Chi Minh City.
Deputy Director Le Minh Hai of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety reported that in the first nine months of the year, the department conducted inspections of 10,030 business establishments. As a result, 29 of them were penalized for food safety violations with fines of over VND318 million (US$12,772).
Additionally, the department and the interdisciplinary inspection team from Thu Duc City and various districts paid visits to 210 facilities throwing the book at 11 establishments. Inspectors collected a total fine of VND92 million .
Since the start of the year, Ho Chi Minh City has reported seven incidents concerning food safety. The Department is working hard to refining the coordination protocols among various departments and agencies to ensure food safety and address poisoning cases. These regulations have undergone a second round of consultation with relevant departments and are being implemented in accordance with established procedures.
Deputy Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health Dr. Nguyen Hoai Nam noted that the investigation and management of food poisoning cases currently encounter several challenges as sporadic occurrence of incidents and treatment across multiple hospitals make investigators hardly verify the establishment of connections, the rarity of certain toxins, the unavailability of antidotes, and the high costs of medications.
In response, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Health has proposed a mechanism to stockpile essential and rare medications to ensure readiness for food poisoning incidents, thereby preventing the need to procure these drugs from abroad during critical situations when patients require immediate care.
Head Cao Thanh Binh noted a significant improvement in Ho Chi Minh City's food safety management. He recommended that relevant agencies develop effective strategies to monitor the quality of goods entering and leaving the city's three wholesale markets.
Additionally, he suggested promoting the branding of wholesale market products and publishing comprehensive information about reputable food service providers. To enhance preparedness, Binh proposed strengthening coordination amongst responsible agencies emphasizing transparency in reporting food poisoning incidents.
