After the discovery of 2,900 tons of bean sprouts soaked in banned substances, the Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee said it had signed a document to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (DARD), the Department of Industry and Trade, the Department of Health, the Provincial Police and the Buon Ma Thuot City People's Committee to direct the clarification of responsibilities of the parties.
Police seized more than 20 tons of finished products soaked in banned substances - Photo: SY DUC
The Dak Lak Provincial People's Committee issued a document "investigating" responsibility and requesting units to report because previously, when the press questioned the responsibility for letting 2,900 tons of price soaked in banned substances leak into the market, the related units "kicked" responsibility to each other.
Accordingly, the Department of Food Safety and Hygiene (Department of Health) pointed to the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, then the Inspector of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development said that if the product is sold on the market, ask the Department of Industry and Trade...
An expert shared with Tuoi Tre that for the incident to happen, objectively speaking, there was an overlap in the management of production, packaging, and sale of products (food) to the market. Accordingly, with 1 price bag, there are 3 agencies (agriculture, health, industry and trade - PV) managing but still allowing banned substances to be mixed in.
Mr. Do Tuan Hung, Head of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Fishery Product Quality Management (Dak Lak Department of Agriculture and Rural Development), confirmed that the unit had issued a certificate of food safety eligibility to the Lam Dao bean sprout production facility.
This certificate is a confirmation that the business's primary processing facilities ensure food safety. As for the production stage, this unit cannot be inspected unless there is a surprise inspection. In addition, to detect violations, it is necessary to take samples for appraisal or deploy a new topic to determine.
"The fact that Mr. Dao (owner of Lam Dao facility) packaged the product and labeled it as having a food safety certificate to sell is wrong. We do not certify that Mr. Dao's products meet food safety requirements. That is the ambiguity of this facility," said Mr. Hung.
According to Mr. Hung, this food safety certificate is issued for 3 years, from April 2024 to April 2027, and is only checked every year. When issuing the certificate, the unit must also be responsible for monitoring whether the product preparation is guaranteed or not.
Due to lack of inspection, the police only got the information when they initiated the case. "However, because the bean sprouts and the active ingredient 6-Benzylaminopurin used in soaking bean sprouts are too new, they have not been subject to thorough inspection like borax and other chemicals used in the production of spring rolls and ham...", Mr. Hung added.
Meanwhile, a source from the Dak Lak Department of Industry and Trade said that all relevant sectors have the function of supervision, so if food containing banned substances reaches consumers, they are all responsible. However, the current regulations for controlling food products are too overlapping, leading to loose inspection and control at each stage.
"To carry out the inspection function, we must review the authority of the units. If we inspect businesses that are not in our duties, we will also be subject to complaints and lawsuits. It is actually too difficult to establish an interdisciplinary team to thoroughly inspect thousands of products and items," this person explained.
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dak-lak-truy-trach-nhiem-tim-huong-xu-ly-vu-gia-ngam-chat-cam-20250103224241061.htm
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