Increased food safety inspections in the last months of the year

In the last months of the year, people's demand for food increases. This is also the time when fake, counterfeit goods of unknown origin easily enter the market, causing food safety risks.

Increase checks to detect violations

According to the Ministry of Health , in October 2024, there were 10 food poisoning cases nationwide with 183 people poisoned, including 1 death. In the first 10 months of 2024, there were 99 food poisoning cases nationwide with 3,561 people poisoned, including 12 deaths.

In the last months of the year, people's demand for food increases. This is also the time when fake, counterfeit goods of unknown origin easily enter the market, causing food safety risks.

As usual, in the last months of the year, the food market is bustling to prepare for the holiday season and Tet. The increased demand for food products also leads to many risks of food poisoning. Therefore, if not well controlled, the food safety situation will become more complicated.

Currently, the situation of trading and transporting food of unknown origin and of poor quality is still happening, especially unsafe foods such as chips, sausages, animal organs...

Fraudsters often commit fraud by changing labels or modifying packaging to extend shelf life in order to sell the goods.

Tet foods, characterized by traditional dishes and processed foods such as banh chung, banh tet, gio cha, jam, fruit, poultry, seafood, etc., are consumed strongly during this time.

This is also the time when unsanitary food production and processing practices may increase due to high demand and laxer controls.

Authorities have increased inspection, detection and strict handling of many violations, preventing unsafe food from entering the market and protecting consumer health.

According to the Hanoi Food Safety and Hygiene Department (Hanoi Department of Health ), since the beginning of 2024, the department has inspected 5,820 street food establishments, including establishments at festivals, fairs, tourist areas and public places.

Accordingly, the department recorded that 83.7% of establishments met food safety standards and more than 16% of establishments had violations. Those establishments that violated were punished by the authorities and required to correct the violations and ensure food safety and hygiene.

In addition, the authorities also inspected 35,146 food service establishments in the city, of which 84.5% met food safety and hygiene requirements; those that did not meet standards were reminded and punished by the authorities according to regulations.

Prevent "dirty" food from spreading

During food safety inspections at the end of last year, authorities discovered and handled many violations, destroyed thousands of substandard products, and warned and punished production facilities that did not meet food safety and hygiene requirements.

However, inspection work still faces some major challenges, such as a lack of determination in handling violations, a shortage of human resources during inspections, and some production facilities still not strictly complying with food safety and hygiene regulations.

In addition, detecting food quality violations is sometimes difficult in clearly identifying harmful substances, especially with chemicals used in food processing that can be easily hidden.

To ensure food safety and prevent food poisoning incidents in the city, Mr. Dang Thanh Phong said that food safety inspection and control will continue to be strengthened.

In particular, the City will focus on post-announcement inspections, surprise inspections, and resolutely handle administrative violations in the field of food safety according to regulations.

Along with strengthening inspection and examination, the city always identifies propaganda as the most important measure in ensuring food safety. Therefore, this activity continues to be promoted further in many forms during the year-end period.

The propaganda content focuses on legal regulations on food safety; prohibited acts in food production and trading; penalties for violations of food safety... Thereby, raising awareness for organizations and individuals producing, trading and distributing in the food sector as well as equipping people with knowledge to protect themselves.

Hanoi will resolutely prevent the circulation of unsafe food products on the market. Absolutely do not allow unsafe products to circulate on the market; resolutely require production and business establishments providing food and beverage services that do not ensure food safety to take remedial measures before continuing to operate.

Along with that, we will provide information about establishments that meet and fail food safety standards on mass media so that people know and choose safe food and boycott unsafe food.

According to Chu Xuan Kien, Director of the Hanoi Market Management Department, in the last months of the year, the city's market management force will focus on inspecting "hot spots" of commercial fraud, while also paying attention to preventing the sale of counterfeit and poor-quality goods on e-commerce platforms.

This is also one of the areas that is causing a lot of concern due to the unregulated nature and rapid growth of online trading platforms.

Source: https://baodautu.vn/tang-kiem-tra-an-toan-thuc-pham-nhung-thang-cuoi-nam-d229915.html