The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will be conducting a nationwide safety inspection of agricultural products in 63 provinces and cities.
File photo shows that workers of the Minh Duc Chemicals Joint Stock Company work on a fertiliser packaging line.
The ministry stated this at a meeting on May 6 to discuss plans to inspect the food hygiene and safety levels of agricultural products across the country.
According to Luong Le Phuong, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, management responsibilities for the nationwide inspection would be divided between the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Ministry of Health and each sector would set its own specific standards to enforce a Food Safety regulation, which takes effect on July 1.
Earlier, the ministry carried out pilot inspections in the central province of Thanh Hoa and the Mekong Delta province of Tien Giang.
The inspectors checked the produce and the fertilizer for plants and preservative trading businesses in the provinces.
The inspections uncovered that both the produce and the preservative trading shops failed to meet safety standards.
In Thanh Hoa Province, inspectors found that 78 of the 252 units they checked did not meet safety standards.
In Tien Giang, inspectors discovered that 332 units out of 1,007 failed to meet safety standards.
The inspections also showed lack of management in animal slaughtering and sanitation in the provinces.
Most slaughterhouses were too small and failed to meet hygiene standards, while many were operating without licences.
Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said that the ministry would penalize or revoke licenses of units that fail to meet safety standards.
