The Food Safety Action Month 2024 took place from April 15 to May 15, 2024. The province established 201 inspection teams/departments, including 135 interdisciplinary inspection teams and 66 specialized inspection teams, which inspected 2,593 food establishments in the province.

Illustration - Photo: ST

The types of food establishments inspected include production, processing, trading, catering services, and street food. Through the inspection results, 1,996 establishments passed the inspection, 597 establishments violated the inspection (accounting for 23.02%).

The main violations are non-compliance with legal regulations, such as: using people in direct contact with food without wearing full protective gear as prescribed; violating the business location, display, and preservation of food that is infested with insects and harmful animals; trading in goods of unknown origin, goods that do not meet quality standards...

The units have imposed administrative fines on 85 violating establishments totaling nearly VND475 million. In addition, the delegations have also applied additional penalties and remedial measures such as temporary suspension of operations of establishments, confiscation of exhibits, and forced recall and destruction of smuggled goods and goods of unknown origin.

From the practical inspections, it is shown that in the province, most of the food production and trading establishments are small-scale, without fixed locations, and are household-sized. Outdated processing technology, irregular and seasonal operations make it difficult to control the origin and quality of products. Street food businesses, without fixed locations, selling in front of school gates... are very difficult to manage.

Packaged food businesses are not strictly managed and regularly controlled, so there is still a situation of trading goods of unknown origin. In the province, there are many small animal slaughterhouses scattered and widely dispersed in residential areas, so inspection and supervision of slaughter activities is very difficult.

Local authorities in some places have not paid attention to the issue of inspection and supervision of veterinary hygiene and food safety at animal slaughterhouses under their management.

Thanh Truc