HCMC can’t ensure food safety on its own: Vissan exec

Ho Chi Minh City cannot ensure food safety with unilateral traceability measures because unsafe products will continue to enter it from other regions, says Nguyen Phuc Khoa, chairman of Vietnam Livestock Industry Corporation (Vissan).

Khoa was speaking at a workshop titled "Application of 4.0 Technology in the food supply chain to ensure food safety and traceability" on Tuesday.

As a company committed to the "Responsible green tick," traceability has to be a priority to ensure availability of safe products, he emphasized.

Vissan has been using 4.0 technology for the past decade to trace the origins of its fresh meat products. In the near future, the company planned to extend this to processed items like sausages and beef balls, allowing consumers to have greater confidence in the quality of their purchases, he said.

Khoa said the main obstacle is that HCMC implementing traceability measures while other localities don’t will mean unsafe products continuing to flood the market.

He stressed the need for stronger collaboration with other localities to promote traceability and raise awareness among businesses and consumers.

Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade, noted that many Vietnamese food products are being exported and accepted in global markets.

However, the same products supplied to the domestic market lacked quality sometimes. This has even led to food poisoning incidents, he noted.

Phuong said the process of ensuring food safety should begin at the source rather than just inspections at points of sale.

In March 2024, HCMC launched the “Cooperation in Controlling Goods Quality in the City” initiative, also known as the "Responsible green tick," with the participation of eight leading distributors.

He said his department is working with various stakeholders to establish a data system and set evaluation standards and criteria for common use by all participating entities.

Products from these units will earn a "green tick" designation, receiving priority support from major distribution networks. Products that violate standards will be removed from the market. If a product is found to violate any commitment within a distribution system, all other systems will be notified.

Phuong said he believed that this approach will prove more effective and fundamental than current market inspections.

Firms seek traceability support

He noted that many manufacturers and businesses have expressed interest in the "Responsible green tick" program, in addition to the eight leading retail systems involved.

The department promoted the program at an event held at end-September with the participation of 2,000 enterprises from 45 provinces and cities. The aim was to connect distributors and manufacturers nationwide.

A representative of Saigon Co.op, a leading retailer in HCMC, said it had established a rigorous control process from raw materials to product distribution. To date, it has signed contracts with hundreds of suppliers and is actively encouraging more suppliers to learn about and participate in the program.

To further advance the initiative, about a week ago, the department collaborated with the municipal Department of Industry and Trade to hold a conference aimed at establishing a quality control cooperation program between Dong Nai province and HCMC.

Tran Lam Sinh, deputy director of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Dong Nai, said meeting HCMC’s quality control standards would provide an opportunity for cooperatives and enterprises in the southern province to find long-term and stable markets for their products.

More than 70 agricultural businesses from the province met with the quality management departments of major retailers participating in the "Responsible green tick" program, including Saigon Co.op, Central Retail, MM Mega Market, Bach Hoa Xanh, and Satra.

The businesses requested HCMC to support them in tracing product origins and maintaining quality control for both domestic and export markets.