Hanoi Market Management Force strengthens inspection and control of food safety in My Duc district.
In big cities, parents are not the first to appear at school gates to wait for their children to finish school. The most “prime” locations in these areas are often already occupied by vendors with all kinds of food and drinks displayed on bicycles, carts, etc.
Street food has many potential risks of food safety and hygiene.
Many people are subjective with street food
Standing in line to pay to buy a moon cake for her grandchild in front of the primary school gate, Ms. Vu Thi Ha (Ba Dinh district, Hanoi) shared: I know the food here is not guaranteed, but my grandchild asks to buy it every day, so eating it once in a while is probably okay.
Not only appealing to children, for many people, snack bars and sidewalk stalls have become something very close and familiar in life, from breakfast to lunch. However, for health experts, this is a very big risk that can lead to food poisoning, especially when the weather is getting hotter.
Talking about the risk of food poisoning every summer, Dr. Huynh Hoai Phuong - Endoscopy and Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgery Center (Tam Anh General Hospital) said that high temperatures are favorable conditions for bacteria, molds and many other harmful agents to grow and develop rapidly.
“E.coli bacteria cause intestinal diseases, diarrhea; Salmonella bacteria cause typhoid; Shigella bacteria cause abdominal pain, diarrhea, intestinal poisoning; Staphylococcus aureus bacteria cause pus in wounds; Clostridium bacteria cause diarrhea; Vibrio cholerae bacteria cause cholera... At about 32-43 degrees Celsius - the temperature commonly found in summer, these bacteria grow fastest, can double in just 20 minutes. Hot weather also makes food spoil quickly, easily spoiled if not preserved properly. In addition, when summer comes, street food also has a high risk of poisoning. It is easy to find fast food stalls on the street with all kinds of sausages, grilled meat, fried meatballs, fried nem chua...; Bottled or homemade drinks such as juices, nut milks, etc. These foods and beverages are often cheap, but buyers are less concerned about whether the processing is guaranteed, the origin, source, and expiration date are clear or not" - Dr. Phuong said.
Students buy food in front of Quynh Mai Secondary School (Hanoi).
The number of poisoning cases increased 3 times.
According to statistics from the Ministry of Health, in March 2024, there were 6 food poisoning incidents nationwide, poisoning 368 people. In the first quarter of 2024, there were 16 food poisoning incidents nationwide, poisoning 659 people - an increase of nearly 3 times compared to the same period in 2023, including 3 deaths.
Most recently, in early April 2024, information from the Khanh Hoa Provincial Department of Health said that 10 cases of students were hospitalized with suspected poisoning symptoms such as abdominal pain and vomiting after eating chicken rice sold around the school, each portion costing between 10,000 - 20,000 VND.
Previously, in mid-March 2024, Khanh Hoa province recorded 369 cases that had to go to hospitals for examination and treatment after eating Tram Anh chicken rice (Ba Trieu Street, Nha Trang City). Test results from the Pasteur Institute of Nha Trang determined that this was a case of food poisoning caused by microorganisms (Salmonella spp, Bacillus cereus, Staphylococcus aureus).
Mr. Nguyen Hung Long - Deputy Director of the Department of Food Safety, stated that the main cause of food poisoning in the summer is due to the current favorable weather conditions for the development of pathogenic bacteria, especially bacteria causing intestinal diseases, animals and plants containing natural toxins (poisonous mushrooms, insects, trees, wild fruits, seafood, etc.); environmental pollution and lack of clean water for processing and cleaning utensils.
Along with that, due to improper processing and preservation of food ingredients; awareness of compliance with food safety regulations of some food production and processing establishments is not strict. The demand for fresh food, unheated food, street food, soft drinks, ice is increasing in families, collective kitchens, crowded meals, tourist destinations...
Resolutely handle violations
In order to strengthen food safety and hygiene, the Central Interdisciplinary Steering Committee on Food Safety has issued a Plan to implement the "Month of Action for Food Safety" in 2024 from April 15 to May 15 nationwide.
At the same time, the Hanoi People's Committee issued Decision No. 1915 on the establishment of an interdisciplinary inspection team for food safety in the "Month of action for food safety" in 2024. This is the first locality in the country to implement the Month of action, with the goal of focusing on handling food safety violations and minimizing food poisoning, especially when summer is coming.
In addition to the four city-level interdisciplinary inspection teams, districts, towns, communes, wards and townships also established inspection teams. The health sector focuses on inspecting food service establishments, street food; collective kitchens in schools, industrial parks; establishments producing and trading drinking water, bottled water, ready-to-use ice according to decentralization...
According to Ms. Vu Thu Ha - Vice Chairman of Hanoi People's Committee, Deputy Head of the Standing Committee of Hanoi Food Safety Steering Committee, food safety is always a very "hot" and complicated issue. In addition, the tricks of violators are increasingly sophisticated, requiring close coordination of relevant functional units to prevent and handle. During the month of action, it is necessary to ensure substance; conduct surprise inspections, absolutely prohibit pre-announced inspections. In particular, the inspection work focuses on areas and facilities that are prone to violations. The inspection process must be "thorough", thereby having handling measures.
According to Dr. Nguyen Trung Nguyen - Director of the Poison Control Center (Bach Mai Hospital), all types of food can be an environment for disease-causing bacteria to grow. With communal kitchens, large gatherings such as weddings, parties, etc. all pose potential food safety risks.
To reduce the risk of food poisoning in the summer, Dr. Nguyen noted that people need to eat cooked food (food that is not spoiled or rotten, not more than 2 hours after processing) and drink boiled water. Absolutely do not eat uncooked food such as blood pudding, nem chua, salad, canned food that is expired or has a swelling phenomenon (containing gas-producing bacteria, possibly Clostridium botulinum). Fresh fruits must be soaked in clean water and washed thoroughly before eating. People should not eat raw vegetables, including vegetables served with bread, pho, bun cha, grilled meat. Do not eat or drink foods suspected of being unhygienic such as ice cubes, sugarcane juice sold on the sidewalk, ice cream sold on the street.
Foods must be cooked. Unused foods or leftovers from meals, if you want to keep them, should only be left at room temperature for no more than 2 hours, then stored in the refrigerator. Absolutely do not buy foods or cooked foods that are of questionable quality and hygiene.
According to Ms. Dao Hong Lan - Minister of Health, Deputy Head of the Central Steering Committee for Food Safety: In addition to the achievements, the work of ensuring food safety still reveals many shortcomings and limitations. There is smuggling of some hazardous foods, many types of food with new business forms (such as business and advertising on multinational social platforms) are difficult to manage. Post-inspection capacity is still limited; there is a shortage of deployment forces, especially at the district and commune levels. Information technology has not been applied in food safety management. The above situation has posed new requirements to promote the responsibility of local Party committees and authorities, especially grassroots authorities, in ensuring food security and safety.
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