The agricultural sector is strengthening the management of food safety for agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products.

(QNO) - This morning, January 10th, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu - Deputy Director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development - chaired a conference to summarize the work on quality management of agricultural inputs and food safety in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries in 2023, and to implement key tasks for 2024.

According to the assessment of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, in 2023, state management of food safety in the agricultural sector was assigned and decentralized from the provincial level down to communes, wards, and towns. The team of officials and civil servants managing the quality of agricultural inputs and food safety in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries basically met the professional requirements, gradually improving the effectiveness of state management.

Public awareness campaigns across various sectors have helped producers, businesses, and consumers understand the importance of using safe food and the harmful effects of unsafe food. Training on legal regulations; inspections and checks of agricultural input production and business establishments, food safety, and aquaculture have been organized and implemented according to plan...

However, there are still many limitations regarding agricultural supplies and food safety in agriculture, forestry, and fisheries. The agricultural production system is small-scale and fragmented, with a limited number of specialized farming areas, making management difficult. Most agricultural, forestry, and fisheries production, preliminary processing, and processing facilities are small-scale, family-owned businesses, and frequently cease operations or change locations, further complicating management.

A significant portion of the population still lacks a deep understanding of food safety, such as consuming animal products of unknown origin or without slaughter inspection/veterinary hygiene stamps, making it difficult to promote the consumption of products from safe food chains.

Farmers produce clean vegetables. Photo: Q. VIET

Concluding the conference, Mr. Nguyen Xuan Vu stated that he would advise the Provincial People's Committee to issue a plan to ensure food safety in 2024 and implement the project "Ensuring the quality of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic products in the period 2021-2030" in the province. He also emphasized the need to continue coordinating with relevant agencies to promote and encourage the production and trading of high-quality, safe agricultural and food products for public health and sustainable development. He stressed the importance of focusing on inspecting and auditing the quality of agricultural inputs and the safety of agricultural, forestry, and aquatic food products.

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