Director of Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety: 'Prevention from the start, from afar, all for a safe and fulfilling Tet holiday.'

According to Associate Professor Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, food safety assurance is implemented with a focus on prevention and strict control before, during, and after Tet (Lunar New Year). This is not only a professional requirement but also a responsibility to protect public health.

Megacity after mergers and the pressure to ensure food safety.

Following its merger with Binh Duong and Ba Ria - Vung Tau, Ho Chi Minh City is expected to become Vietnam's first megacity – a large-scale economic , cultural, and service center with a strong regional influence.

Along with the expansion of development space, food festivals have also rapidly increased in both scale and frequency, gradually becoming a distinctive highlight on the city's tourism and cultural map.

However, alongside this vibrant atmosphere comes an increasing demand for food safety – a key factor in building a dynamic yet safe, civilized, and livable city.

In particular, with the Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse) approaching and the start of the year's festival season, the food market enters its peak season. Consumer demand increases sharply, especially for items used during Tet such as meat, sausages, confectionery, processed foods, beverages, and traditional products. The bustling production, transportation, and trading of food products also pose a risk to food safety if there is a lack of strict and coordinated control.

Assoc. Prof. Dr. Pham Khanh Phong Lan - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety.

Associate Professor Pham Khanh Phong Lan - Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, said: "After the merger, food safety management faces many new challenges, not only in terms of scale but also in terms of geographical specifics and organizational capacity for implementation."

Accordingly, after the merger, the scope of management was significantly expanded, encompassing many areas with different characteristics – from urban centers, industrial zones, and service areas to suburban, rural, and even remote areas. The large population, high density of food production, processing, and business establishments, and their uneven distribution create considerable pressure on inspection and supervision work.

Furthermore, the diversity and complexity of food-related activities also pose a challenge. The system spans from large-scale industrial enterprises to small-scale businesses, family-run restaurants, street food vendors, and traditional markets. Therefore, the consistent application of food safety regulations in practice faces numerous obstacles.

Another challenge is resources. While the geographical area and number of establishments are increasing rapidly, the workforce responsible for managing, inspecting, and supervising food safety remains insufficient. The high workload and increasingly demanding professional requirements necessitate the restructuring of the organizational apparatus and the corresponding increase in resources.

In particular, in remote and rural areas, geographical distance and infrastructure limitations restrict access, unannounced inspections, and regular monitoring. These are vulnerable areas that pose potential risks if not properly managed.

In the context of aiming to become the country's first megacity, ensuring food safety is not only a requirement for specialized management, but also a measure of operational capacity and commitment to building a safe living environment for residents and tourists.

Increase post-inspection to ensure food safety during the festive season.

In the days leading up to the Lunar New Year of the Horse 2026, a series of food safety violations discovered by authorities in Ho Chi Minh City have caused considerable public concern. From hundreds of tons of fresh noodles containing borax, thousands of tons of snails soaked in chemicals, to a ring that "transformed" pork into beef using additives of unknown origin… these incidents demonstrate the sophistication and audacity of some individuals who prioritize profit over public health.

Strengthen inspections to ensure people have a safe Lunar New Year celebration.

In addition, numerous violations regarding the origin, labeling, and storage conditions of food have been continuously detected and dealt with. Statistical figures and surprise inspections show that the risk of food safety violations still exists, especially at facilities providing meals for groups, cold storage facilities, and small retail businesses – "links" that are easily susceptible to risks if management is lax.

According to the Ho Chi Minh City Market Management Department, the main reasons for the increase in food safety violations, especially during the Tet holiday season, stem primarily from profit motives and revenue pressure. The surge in shopping and dining demand creates opportunities for some establishments to profit by marketing food of unknown origin, poor quality, or violating regulations on labeling and preservation. In addition, laxity in some intermediate stages, consumers' preference for cheap prices, and limitations in traceability also contribute to loopholes that allow violations to arise and increase…

From a professional perspective, the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety stated that the end of the year and Tet (Lunar New Year) are times when consumer demand increases sharply, and therefore the risk of violations also increases. Therefore, in addition to initial inspections of production and business conditions, post-inspection plays a crucial role in ensuring that establishments maintain the correct procedures and commitments as registered.

To proactively control risks during the Lunar New Year (Year of the Horse) and the Spring Festival season of 2026, the Department of Food Safety advised the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee to issue Decision No. 422/QD-UBND on the plan to inspect compliance with food safety laws. The plan aims to ensure people have a safe Tet holiday while maintaining a healthy competitive environment among food production, processing, trading, and import/export establishments.

Accordingly, inspection teams were established and deployed in a focused and targeted manner, concentrating on high-demand consumer goods during Tet such as meat and meat products, beer, wine, soft drinks, confectionery, fruits and vegetables, food additives, and food service establishments. Particular attention was paid to controlling production and import sources, wholesale markets, supermarkets, shopping centers, and transportation activities, in order to promptly detect counterfeit, substandard, expired, or unidentifiable goods.

Inspections were carried out throughout the period before, during, and after Tet (Lunar New Year), combined with the dissemination of legal regulations to raise awareness among businesses and consumers about compliance. Simultaneously, the Department focused on prevention, ensuring that no food poisoning incidents occurred during the period of numerous large-scale festivals. The decentralization of supervision by ward, commune, and special zone was clearly implemented to ensure close control and timely handling of any potential risks.

For large-scale festivals and events, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety implements specific monitoring plans to ensure strict control before, during, and after the event. They develop separate monitoring plans for each program, coordinating with the organizing committee to review legal documents, hygiene conditions, raw material origins, and facilities of participating units.

During the event, authorities directly monitored processing and business activities; samples were taken for testing when necessary to ensure compliance with regulations. In areas far from the city center, the Department coordinated with local authorities to develop self-inspection plans tailored to the local conditions.

The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety is implementing specific monitoring plans to ensure strict control throughout the period before, during, and after events and festivals.

The intensive inspection period will last until March 20th, with the goal of comprehensively controlling food production, processing, distribution, and consumption; minimizing the risk of food poisoning during the peak festival season.

To ensure that the family reunion meal during Tet (Lunar New Year) does not become a health hazard.

Alongside inspections, the food safety sector is stepping up its public awareness campaigns based on the principle of "prevention is key." Numerous training courses have been organized for management staff and production and business establishments; small traders in traditional markets are given specific guidance on storage conditions, traceability, and compliance with legal regulations.

Hundreds of thousands of leaflets and posters were distributed; local public address systems and online channels were utilized to spread recommendations on choosing safe food, cooking food thoroughly, and maintaining hygiene in food preparation and storage. People were also encouraged to promptly report violations to the authorities.

According to the head of the Food Safety Department, initial monitoring results show that most businesses strictly comply with regulations, and food samples generally meet quality standards. However, because Ho Chi Minh City relies heavily on food sources from other provinces and cities, as well as imports, risks can still arise from small-scale, unregulated transactions.

Therefore, besides the efforts of the authorities, the awareness and consumption habits of each family play a decisive role. Alongside monitoring, the Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department advises people attending crowded events and festivals to choose food stalls with clear origins and guaranteed hygiene conditions; avoid consuming food with unusual signs; cook food thoroughly, boil water, and wash hands before eating; and when shopping, choose products with clear origins, within their expiration dates, store them properly, and avoid excessive stockpiling to minimize risks.

Source: https://suckhoedoisong.vn/giam-director-so-attp-tphcm-phong-ngua-tu-som-tu-xa-tat-ca-vi-mot-mua-tet-an-toan-tron-ven-169260213170506695.htm