At the end of last month, I had the opportunity to personally be guided by Mr. Nguyen Dinh Tuong - Director of Dong Tam Livestock and Service Cooperative (Can Huu Commune, Quoc Oai District, Hanoi City) to visit his entire facility. A pork slaughterhouse and processing facility without any unpleasant odors was my first impression. “Whether the food is delicious is one thing, but whether it is safe or not is another…”, I asked.

Hearing me bring up the issue, he nodded in agreement and said: "It's true that pigs raised this way were fed uncooked bran with vegetables and duckweed collected from ditches in the past. The meat was fragrant and delicious, but it was not safe because it could be infected with worms.

With my 20 years of experience in slaughtering, I have found that the reason why pigs raised by feeding them with bran and raw water fern in the past had a lot of worms in them. I have tried raising them before and found that it was completely possible to actively create this type of intestine by doing so, but because it did not ensure food safety, I gave up. Nowadays, pigs raised with processed bran and drinking clean water almost do not have worms, even though the market price is several million VND/kg, but they still accept it..."

In 2014, Mr. Tuong's farm was one of 37 farms across the city selected by a unit of the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development to participate in a project to raise pigs using biological feed with a support level of 75% of biological feed and 30 breeding pigs. The project has brought about clean environmental results, safe from diseases, especially producing fragrant, delicious, firm, sweet pork products, completely different from pork raised using industrial feed.

Normally, many projects will not be continued in production after they are finished. However, he realized the effectiveness and difference of biosafety pig farming, so he persisted in pursuing it. At first, he connected with a biofeed production company to buy. Later, he realized that if he kept buying like that, he would not get high profits, so he researched how to mix the ingredients himself.

At first, not many people knew about the quality of organic pork, so he agreed to sell it at the same price as regular pork to introduce it. One person bought it to try and then told another, and gradually organic pork became a new trend accepted by consumers. Realizing that the market was receiving it positively, in August 2016, he gathered many farm owners in the commune as well as some neighboring communes to discuss and establish Dong Tam Livestock and Service Cooperative. From there, a closed production chain was formed.

To create organic pork products, the input must be a source of food selected from clean, natural agricultural products such as corn, bran, cassava, without using additives, colorants, or toxic chemicals. Secondly, the water source used must meet all permitted standards. The breeding process is closed at each stage, from creating a source of quality-assured breeds to raising, slaughtering, preliminary processing, packaging, and processing, all of which are undertaken by the cooperative.

The cooperative periodically sends samples of products for analysis to check meat quality. Pig feed ingredients include rice bran, corn, soybeans, barley bran, probiotics and are regularly vaccinated to prevent disease without using antibiotics, so raising pigs this way is very close to organic production methods.

During the period of 2016 - 2020, the Cooperative was fortunate to receive support and assistance from the Hanoi Department of Agriculture and Rural Development as well as the Quoc Oai District Agricultural Extension Station. In 2020, the support mechanism for the closed chain ended, but the Cooperative remained steadfast thanks to its correct orientation from the beginning. From individual livestock farming, unstable due to disease and the market, up to now, the members of the Cooperative have controlled inputs and outputs with contracts signed throughout the year, creating a stable source of income and jobs.

Currently, the cooperative slaughters 3-5 pigs every day to supply clean food stores, generating billions in revenue each month. Although still modest, it is worth being proud of because it contributes to ensuring food safety for the community.

Currently, the Cooperative's main products include 3 types of processed pork, ham and sausage. In 2019, these products all achieved 4-star OCOP of Hanoi city and most recently, the Cooperative participated in 2 pork and ham products at the OCOP council at Quoc Oai district level, achieving 3-star OCOP.