Perspectives

If you haven't had food poisoning, don't be subjective during Tet.

HOANG LINH January 17, 2025 05:30

Tet At Ty is approaching, the demand for food of people in the province increases, but also the time when concerns about quality and food hygiene and safety arise.

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The provincial Food Safety and Hygiene Department inspects compliance with food safety regulations at a green bean cake production facility in Hai Duong City. Photo: TIEN MANH

According to data from the Ministry of Health, in 2024, the country recorded 131 cases of food poisoning with 4,796 people, 21 people died. Notably, 43 cases were related to natural toxins, 6 cases were caused by chemicals, 45 cases were caused by organisms, the rest had undetermined causes.

In Hai Duong, in 2024, all levels and sectors established 770 inspection teams to inspect and post-inspecte 9,168 food production and trading establishments. The teams identified 948 establishments violating food safety and hygiene, accounting for 10.34%. During the year, authorities took 260 food samples to test for safety levels. As a result, 254 samples met requirements, 6 samples that did not meet requirements were handled and warned. Although there were "no recorded" food poisoning in the province, we should not be subjective or negligent in managing food safety and hygiene because when an incident occurs, it will greatly affect health.

Tet and spring are also the times when there are many feasts and meetings. High demand will require high supply. Therefore, the amount of food will increase, and some items will even become scarce. This is an opportunity for many traders and businesses to cheat and mix in poor quality goods to deceive consumers for immediate benefits. The risk of food poisoning from this route is very high.

Food poisoning is not only caused by poor quality raw materials but also by the consciousness and conscience of the producers and processors. In early January, public opinion was shocked when the famous Nguyen Ninh green rice cake production facility in Hanoi was suspended due to violations of food hygiene and safety regulations.

The place where this facility produces the specialty green rice cakes is moldy, has accumulated waste, and the processing equipment is not cleaned regularly. The processing area is also near the restroom. And, no one knows how many green rice cakes from this facility have reached consumers. Many people are worried because they do not know how many other food production facilities like this have not been exposed.

In Hai Duong, food safety concerns are also due to the impact of climate and weather. It is forecasted that during the upcoming Tet At Ty, the weather in the province will not be very cold, but will remain sunny during the day and cold at night. This makes food susceptible to spoilage and contamination if not properly preserved.

To prevent the risk of contaminated food during the upcoming Tet At Ty and Spring Festival, the Food Safety Steering Committee of Hai Duong province has established 3 inter-sectoral inspection teams at the provincial level in 12 districts, towns and cities. The district and commune levels have also established 226 inspection teams to strengthen food hygiene and safety management in the area.

The delegations will conduct three peak inspections, before Tet, during Tet and the festival season after Tet. They will focus on inspecting and monitoring food items that are widely used during Tet such as meat, beer, wine, cakes, candies, vegetables, tubers, fruits, etc. Production and import hubs, traditional markets, supermarkets, and convenience stores will be focused on inspection. During the inspection process, they will combine propaganda and education on food safety and hygiene laws to raise public awareness and consciousness.

In addition to strict control by authorities, consumers need to be more careful when choosing to buy food to eliminate floating food of unknown origin. Proactively grasp and accumulate knowledge and information about food safety. Production and business establishments must put conscience and responsibility first, not harming consumers' health for economic benefits. Only then will food insecurity no longer be a concern during Tet.

HOANG LINH
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If you haven't had food poisoning, don't be subjective during Tet.