Invest properly in 'clean meat'

Recently, authorities have discovered and handled many cases related to poor quality food and "dirty" food circulating on the market.

Staff butchering pork at Hoc Mon agricultural and food wholesale market. Illustration photo: Huong Giang/VNA

The newly discovered cases once again "sound the alarm" about the state of food safety and hygiene, causing harm to consumers' health and directly affecting legitimate businesses. In fact, there are currently many businesses that operate honestly and systematically, with products that meet international standards on food safety and hygiene thanks to investment in modern equipment.

As the owner of the brand "BAF Vegetarian Pork", Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, Deputy General Director of BAF Vietnam Agriculture Joint Stock Company, said that in order to bring consumers a source of pork that ensures food safety and hygiene, BAF's disease management motto is to focus on "Disease prevention through biosafety, responsible use of antibiotics instead of antibiotic abuse, prioritizing the use of products that replace antibiotics with beneficial microorganisms, enzymes, organic acids and herbs as top priorities".

To strictly control the quality of products reaching consumers, BAF applies operating procedures from breeding, slaughtering, packaging, and distribution in accordance with state standards and strict regulations set by the enterprise. From pig selection, transportation to slaughterhouse, slaughtering - packaging to distribution, every stage is closely monitored to ensure food safety and hygiene and prevent the "mixing" of non-BAF products.

In particular, BAF Vietnam registered and was selected by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine as a pilot unit to deploy and operate the traceability system for livestock facilities and products of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment . BAF is actively participating in the management programs on food safety and disease safety of the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment and proactively applying digital technology in production operation management.

Currently, consumers still have the habit of buying "hot" pork at traditional markets. Authorities have also instructed consumers on how to choose pork, paying attention to choosing fresh pork with a dry surface, light pink color, not wet or slimy, and good elasticity... However, livestock industry experts also note that consumers have another option to buy branded, safe, and traceable chilled meat, which is gradually appearing more and more in the lives of Vietnamese consumers.

According to the provisions of Circular No. 33/2012/TT-BNNPTNT stipulating hygiene conditions and ensuring food safety for establishments trading in fresh meat and edible animal by-products used as food, the conditions and storage period for meat and by-products are that no chemicals are used for preservation; meat and by-products stored at room temperature can only be sold within 8 hours of slaughter; meat and by-products stored at a temperature of 0 to 5 degrees Celsius can only be sold within 72 hours of slaughter.

Currently, there are a number of enterprises that have invested thousands of billions of VND in modern production lines to produce food safety products that meet international standards. A typical example is Masan MEATLife Joint Stock Company with the MEATDeli refrigerated meat product.

This enterprise currently has two MEATDeli chilled meat processing complexes located in Ha Nam and Long An, both equipped with synchronous and advanced equipment lines provided by Marel - the world's leading company in slaughtering and meat processing equipment from the Netherlands. The entire production process uses chilled meat technology from Europe and complies with BRC Standards - the global standard for food safety established by the British Retailer Consortium.

In addition to the modern and advanced operating system, the MEATDeli representative said that the Company also strictly controls the input pig source, applying the "3-line quarantine" control system according to the instructions of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (now the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment) and the Department of Food Safety - Ministry of Health. Including: Quarantine line No. 1 - Only healthy pigs are released from the farm and brought to the factory; Quarantine line No. 2 - Only healthy pigs are brought into production at the factory; Quarantine line No. 3: Only safe pork is sold from the factory.

Masan MEATLife Joint Stock Company also shared about the entire process of producing chilled meat that meets European standards before being put on the market. Accordingly, when arriving at the factory, pigs are allowed to rest, drink clean water and be carefully cared for, then isolated and listened to relaxing music before being stunned with CO2 gas so that the pigs completely lose consciousness. This is a humane slaughter method today and is in line with the chilled meat processing standards of developed countries.

A representative of Masan MEATLife Joint Stock Company added that MEATDeli chilled meat is the first meat brand to meet BRC standards. This is a global standard for food safety established by the British Retailer Consortium. To be certified to meet BRC standards, manufacturers must meet requirements such as commitment to improvement, food safety, and clear traceability of origin information.

Deputy General Director of BAF Vietnam Agriculture Joint Stock Company, Mr. Nguyen Van Minh, said that it is necessary to bring all slaughtering activities into standard facilities, ensuring food hygiene and safety, limiting small-scale, manual slaughtering. Investing in a standard slaughterhouse requires a huge cost, therefore, the factories both serve internally and provide services to the outside to improve exploitation efficiency. Along with that, to strictly manage food hygiene and safety, the state needs to have a master plan for slaughterhouses that are suitable in terms of geography, population size, and logistics. At the same time, create a policy mechanism to encourage livestock enterprises to invest in a system of slaughterhouses and food processing plants to manage and supply safe, quality food to ensure hygiene for consumers, Mr. Minh analyzed.

According to VNA

Source: https://doanhnghiepvn.vn/kinh-te/dau-tu-bai-ban-cho-thit-sach-/20250630072924607