Food safety concerns as manually slaughtered pigs are imported to wholesale markets

From the night of August 12 to the early morning of August 13, Head of the Culture and Society Committee of the Ho Chi Minh City People's Council Cao Thanh Binh chaired a survey on food safety management at Hoc Mon Food Processing Joint Stock Company and Hoc Mon agricultural wholesale market.

The working group recorded the actual operations at the industrial slaughterhouse on the evening of August 12.

Industrial slaughterhouses operate at only 50% capacity.

According to Mr. Le Anh Phuong, Director of Hoc Mon Food Processing Joint Stock Company, industrial slaughtering activities have not been effective in the past. In 2023, the total processing output at Xuan Thoi Thuong Livestock Slaughterhouse (invested by the company) only reached 50% of the design capacity, an average of 2,017 pigs/day. In the first 6 months of 2024, the capacity only reached 47%, an average of 1,887 pigs/day.

The reason is that the source of live pigs is transferred to the slaughterhouses of Long An province and then the pork pieces are transferred to Hoc Mon wholesale market, accounting for more than 50% of the total output. Meanwhile, the amount of pork processed at industrial slaughterhouses in Ho Chi Minh City (Xuan Thoi Thuong, An Ha, Loc An) is only 2,500 out of 5,200 pigs imported to the market.

Faced with the above reality, Mr. Le Anh Phuong proposed that the city consider creating conditions for the city's industrial slaughterhouses to retain customers, develop stably, and contribute to strictly controlling food safety; have a priority policy for pigs slaughtered at the city's factories to circulate in the city's markets; support the inspection and supervision of the widespread sale of unhygienic pork.

Taking note of the company's proposal, Comrade Cao Thanh Binh raised the issue of regulations on the source of pigs brought to industrial slaughterhouses as well as the control effectiveness of the pork traceability ring.

According to a representative of the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Ho Chi Minh City, pigs raised in the city comply with regulations on vaccination, disease prevention and control, and the use of banned substances in livestock farming, with inspection certificates or transfer receipts when transported. The program of wearing traceability rings mainly applies to pigs from other provinces to Ho Chi Minh City.

Comrade Cao Thanh Binh checks information from the barcode on the pork traceability ring.

The pork traceability project is currently managed by the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety. A representative of the department explained that wearing a pork traceability bracelet helps control the origin of pigs from the farm to the slaughterhouse and to some markets and supermarkets participating in the project.

However, the project encourages, but does not require, all farms to wear collars on pigs. Any farm that wants to participate must submit an application to the Department of Food Safety to be granted a code and register to buy the collar. The transportation process is always inspected by local veterinary teams, checkpoints and right at the slaughterhouse.

Associate Professor, Doctor Hoang Thi Diem Tuyet, Director of Hung Vuong Hospital, a member of the working group, asked whether there was a risk that pigs raised elsewhere and then brought back to the farm would wear tracking rings. At the same time, it was necessary to clarify the effectiveness of wearing tracking rings because the cost of buying the rings was not small and consumers were having to pay this fee.

The working group was also concerned about food safety issues with the number of pigs being transported to the province for manual slaughter and then imported to wholesale markets.

Hot topic of unsafe trading outside wholesale markets

Hoc Mon Agricultural Products Wholesale Market is one of the three wholesale markets in Ho Chi Minh City, playing a particularly important role in consuming and supplying pork and vegetables to the city and surrounding areas. Every day, about 30,000 people come to the market.

Traders at Hoc Mon wholesale market provide documents and papers according to regulations.

At the survey, Mr. Le Van Tien, Director of Hoc Mon Agricultural Products and Food Wholesale Market Management and Trading Company Limited (abbreviated as Hoc Mon Wholesale Market) said that the current pressing issue is the illegal operation of trading points outside the market. Here, sellers do not have to undergo health checks, are not trained in food safety, do not have certificates of food safety eligibility or commitments to produce and trade safe food, are not sampled for periodic testing, and violate regulations on traffic safety, environmental sanitation, and urban order.

Meanwhile, traders inside Hoc Mon wholesale market must comply with many strict regulations to ensure product quality and food safety, and bear the cost of taking pork samples for microbiological testing, leading to higher prices.

However, purchasing power in the market has decreased while the outside market is bustling, there is a risk that traders will have to "have one foot in, one foot out", even leaving the wholesale market. "We hope to resolve the problems so that traders can feel secure to stay and invest", said Mr. Le Van Tien.

The working group surveyed Hoc Mon wholesale market in the early morning of August 13.

Concluding the survey, Comrade Cao Thanh Binh highly appreciated the responsibility of Hoc Mon Agricultural Products and Food Wholesale Market Management and Trading Company Limited and Hoc Mon Food Processing Joint Stock Company. The working group acknowledged the valid recommendations of the two units and requested departments and localities to coordinate resolutely to handle existing problems.

Comrade Cao Thanh Binh emphasized that for business locations outside the wholesale market that do not ensure regulations and food safety, authorities and localities need to regularly inspect and test samples to ensure fairness and create a legal corridor.

“I hope that the locality and relevant departments will study solutions and boldly propose specific policies for the best development of wholesale markets. Ensure strict food safety management at wholesale markets to form a food safety belt in Ho Chi Minh City, and study solutions to overcome technical barriers so that markets can operate effectively and transparently,” said Mr. Cao Thanh Binh.

TRANSPORTATION

Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/lo-ngai-an-toan-thuc-pham-khi-heo-giet-mo-thu-cong-nhap-ve-cho-dau-moi-post753846.html