City meals

The launching ceremony for the Food Safety Action Month in Quang Nam took place in April. "Food safety" is no longer just a slogan, but has become a matter of survival for everyone...

Food safety in urban areas needs stricter control, not just through inspections during campaigns. Photo: Xuan Hien

Along with the pace of urbanization, the food consumption system in large cities has also become more complex.

Gray areas

At Hoa Cuong wholesale market (Hai Chau district, Da Nang city), hundreds of tons of vegetables and fruits arrive daily. From here, agricultural products from the Central Highlands, the Mekong Delta, and northern provinces are transported by traders to supply the people of Da Nang and surrounding areas.

This is also where small traders from many large markets in Quang Nam buy, sell, and exchange goods to resell in various localities. Ms. Nguyen Thi H., a small trader at Vinh Dien Market (Dien Ban), said that she has been transporting agricultural products from here for nearly 15 years to distribute to other businesses in the Dien Ban and Hoi An areas.

Every day, thousands of tons of vegetables, meat, seafood, processed foods, and other products are transported into urban areas from hundreds of different sources – some with clearly identifiable sources, others that are very difficult to track.

In 2024, according to a report by the Ministry of Health , nearly 100 cases of mass food poisoning were recorded nationwide, affecting more than 3,200 people, mainly occurring in urban areas, industrial zones, and schools. Even more concerning, the origin of the food could not be traced in 40% of these cases.

The Food Safety Administration (FSA) notes that urban areas are direct consumers of food products, but they do not directly produce them. The "traceability loophole" originates from the long, intertwined supply chain encompassing traditional markets, convenience stores, industrial kitchens, and online sales applications – where uninspected food can easily find its way into people's meals.

In urban areas, food safety is often envisioned in supermarkets with QR codes for tracing the origin of each bunch of vegetables. However, in reality, more than 70% of urban food still comes from informal markets, street vendors, and cheap street food stalls.

Authorities such as the Food Safety and Hygiene Department, market management, and preventive health services, despite their efforts in inter-agency inspections, are still overwhelmed by the enormous scale and constant evolution of the unofficial food market.

"Many establishments that violated regulations, after inspection, 'transform' themselves with new names and licenses, and continue operating. Meanwhile, inspection resources are insufficient to monitor every nook and cranny," a food safety inspector in Ho Chi Minh City shared with the press.

Managing online food orders and app-based deliveries is even more challenging. There are no specific laws regulating home kitchens selling hundreds of meals daily from apartment buildings.

Currently, the digitalization of food safety control is beginning to be recognized in many countries, with requirements for restaurants and eateries to implement applications for tracing and reporting, and even using AI to analyze data and provide risk warnings when consuming food in different environments and regions.

Dreaming... of a safe food supply chain.

To ensure food safety in urban areas, we cannot rely solely on inspections or short-term campaigns. According to the Da Nang City Food Safety Board, the city has implemented numerous measures to control food safety at wholesale markets, particularly Hoa Cuong Market and Tho Quang fishing port.

The inter-agency team on food safety in the province conducted surprise inspections of food production and business establishments throughout the province. Photo: Xuan Hien

The Da Nang City Food Safety Management Board has signed food safety commitments with approximately 500 business households, issued food safety certificates, and regularly taken samples to monitor pesticide residue levels.

In addition, Da Nang has implemented a "Clean Food for Schools" program, directly cooperating with agricultural cooperatives in Quang Nam and some other localities in the region, helping more than 30 schools have access to food sources with controlled sourcing.

In the country's two largest cities, while Ho Chi Minh City is applying blockchain technology to its clean vegetable supply chain – with each bunch of vegetables having a traceable QR code from planting to the consumer – Hanoi is expanding its "pilot food safety market" model, requiring all stalls to clearly display the origin of their produce and conducting quick checks for pesticide residue right at the market. However, these models are still small-scale and have not yet spread to the informal markets and street vendors that form the "backbone of street food."

Quang Nam currently requires food businesses to list prices and publish QR codes for OCOP products and some specialty products. Collective kitchens in industrial zones and schools are required to retain samples for testing if any issues arise later.

In most localities, especially urban areas, food safety efforts are still largely limited to communication and raising public awareness. Stronger measures are needed to ensure that city dwellers truly enjoy safe meals.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/bua-an-o-thanh-pho-3153745.html