After 2 years of implementing Decision 1039 on building and applying traceability systems in the area in the period of 2021-2030, there are still many products on the market that have not been traced and many traceability methods are not guaranteed, affecting consumer confidence. At the recent July Overseas Vietnamese Rendezvous program, overseas Vietnamese businessmen shared their experiences and solutions to enhance traceability of goods, in order to have more domestic products participating in the distribution channels of the overseas Vietnamese community.
Tight control from within
From the reality of bringing Ganoderma lucidum products into the Amazon (USA) consumption network, Dr. Le Hoang The, a Vietnamese living in Japan, Director of The VOS Ecosystem Company Limited, analyzed that standards and traceability are two different issues. Enterprises participating in the production and supply chain of goods must clearly understand that product standards are requirements for goods to meet the market, while traceability is the "identity" of goods so that consumers can check. From there, there are specific solutions to ensure quality and register traceability of goods before bringing them to the domestic and international markets.
"Overseas Vietnamese Rendezvous" was held for the first time in Ho Chi Minh City.
“To get a product from Vietnam to export to the US market, the first thing is to confirm that all products are certified, have patents and have been tested at each stage. The second thing is to understand what the standards are in the US. For example, functional foods must have organic ingredients, be tested by which laboratory, and meet which standards. The product must be registered as a trademark, so that no one can imitate it,” said Dr. Le Hoang The.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luan, an overseas Vietnamese in Australia and founder of the Meet More Coffee brand, said that when exporting goods abroad, businesses must conduct thorough research and strictly comply with the regulations of the host country, especially the issue of traceability must be extremely strict.
Dr. Le Hoang The (middle), Vietnamese in Japan, Director of The VOS Ecosystem Company Limited.
“For us, the first thing is to participate in the ISO process, have full documents and text data in each shipment, then encode that data on the portal with QR code, or information about technology. Enterprises must have an internal control department, this is very important, need to invest in a quality management system”, said Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luan.
According to Mr. Luan, the issue that needs attention is to widely communicate to change people's habits, towards "smart consumers", interested in choosing products with registered origin, even though the price is higher but the product has better quality, more guaranteed. From there, it will change the thinking, production and business methods of enterprises when participating in the supply chain.
Mr. Nguyen Ngoc Luan, Vietnamese in Australia, CEO of Meet More Coffee.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Dany Vo Thanh Dang - overseas Vietnamese in Singapore, Vice President of the Overseas Vietnamese Business Association, commented that in Vietnam, many businesses after a period of pursuing cost reduction have introduced poor quality products to the market, causing customers to lose confidence. Therefore, there needs to be a governing body, managing through traceability, codes, and barcodes, to help people trust more, knowing that the products they buy are good.
“How to support consumer confidence. When living in Singapore, consumers do not have to worry because they believe that the Government does a good job of checking products before they go to market. We should look at the root of the problem, trace the origin, and solve it temporarily. In the long term, we must find a way to increase the confidence of the people and customers in products made in Vietnam,” said Mr. Dany Vo Thanh Dang.
Understand correctly to do correctly
Working in the field of food safety inspection, authenticating the origin of agricultural products of Vietnam and the world, Mr. Henry Bui, Vietnamese American, Director of Hoan Vu High-Tech Analysis Center, operating in Vietnam for the past 17 years, said that traceability in the Vietnamese understanding is product information, who produced it, the unit responsible for that item. While abroad, this means "food and animal fingerprints", each product has a unique "fingerprint", that is how the world is doing.
Mr. Henry Bui, Vietnamese in the US, Director of Hoan Vu High-Tech Analysis Center.
Specifically, when an item is brought abroad, it must meet food safety standards and authenticate the product being sold. For example, honey must be authenticated to see if the bees eat sugar, are they contaminated with antibiotics or pesticides? Or a cotton shirt must know which country the cotton is from? Similarly, dragon fruit, passion fruit, coconut water... are all tested in the same way and must use machines to authenticate.
“Regarding quality, for foreign countries, orange juice, coconut water, passion fruit... must be 100% standard, they require labeling so the origin must be verified. If you go without knowing, it is easy to get stuck abroad, if they fail the inspection, the cost will be very high or compensation will be very high. That is what Vietnamese businesses are facing,” Mr. Henry Bui shared.
The initial investment cost for traceability is quite large, requiring highly specialized human resources along with complex processes, incurring additional costs for training employees on technology, setting up a system to record and check data accurately and continuously. Ms. Do Tu Trace, Director of External Relations of Blue Saigon Company, said that the company strives to ensure that traceability is always clear, providing QR codes, barcodes and SMS messages so that when customers search, they will automatically display them.
“We have established a team to use all the apps on the market to serve this traceability. Units such as VCCI, Phu Nhuan Business Association, Phu Nhuan District Party Committee... accompany and support us to be able to properly implement the standards suitable for suppliers, manufacturers, and import partners,” said Ms. Do Tu Trace.
Ms. Vo Dinh Lien Ngoc, Deputy Director of the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality - Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City.
Ms. Vo Dinh Lien Ngoc, Deputy Head of the Department of Standards, Metrology and Quality, Department of Science and Technology of Ho Chi Minh City, said that implementing Decision 1039, the City has deployed the traceability system for 5/7 groups of products and goods in the List of products and goods prioritized for traceability implementation in the area.
The current difficulty is that the National Product Traceability Portal is still in the testing phase, so there is not enough basis to build a system for Ho Chi Minh City, and the city has not been granted an account to manage businesses in the area. In addition, traceability is a difficult technical field, requiring high expertise while human resources do not meet the requirements.
The program aims to connect domestic businesses and Vietnamese businessmen abroad.
Ms. Ngoc added that 36 national standards will be disseminated in the coming years. If more businesses register to participate, the plan of the City People's Committee will be effective: "We will review and supplement the list of goods and products with priority for traceability. In the future, if there is a need, we will report and organize the ordering of guidance documents as a standard model for businesses to implement traceability. Regarding the portal system of Ho Chi Minh City, we are waiting for instructions. Information from the Ministry of Science and Technology, in the third quarter, the National Product Traceability Portal will officially operate."
Developing a database system and authenticating information to trace the origin is essential to ensure the quality and safety of products for consumption connection activities. Overseas Vietnamese businesses said they are ready to accompany Ho Chi Minh City in implementing and managing the traceability of goods. Thereby, contributing to building brands, improving competitiveness for domestic businesses, serving the supply of goods in the city and international integration.
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