Many supermarkets say that the products sold on their shelves must go through multiple layers of inspection, and authorities also confirm that they do. So why are there still cases of dirty food "slipping" into this retail channel?
Through the story of the price of banned substances sold by Bach Hoa Xanh, talking with Tuoi Tre , a representative of a large distribution system, admitted that although suppliers have been screened, it is not easy to control goods entering supermarkets if supermarkets are afraid of spending money on control.
No testing is no good
"Every year we spend tens of billions of dong just to take samples for testing, but sometimes we are not confident because the source of goods is too diverse. Therefore, if supermarkets are afraid of spending money, afraid to invest in testing and only trust the documents from the supplier, the quality of the goods will be very hit or miss, even very unstable when the supplier does wrong," he affirmed.
From the perspective of a vegetable supplier for supermarkets for many years, Mr. Trinh Van Dong (Thu Duc City) "diagnosed" that the quality of goods in many supermarkets is sometimes hit or miss due to lack of management at the grassroots level.
Specifically, according to Mr. Dong, each supermarket has dozens, hundreds, even thousands of points of sale and suppliers are almost everywhere, while the quality and brand are "mixed", for example, there are currently hundreds of suppliers for supermarkets from small retail establishments to companies.
"The general policy sounds good, but whether it is followed at the point of sale or not is uncertain. If the point of sale and purchasing department are not strictly controlled, it is easy for negative things to arise in the import stage, and the quality of imported goods is therefore difficult to control," said Mr. Dong.
According to Mr. Dong, testing must be maintained regularly and there needs to be a mobile testing vehicle to conduct surprise inspections of suppliers' goods, even at the production site. Because currently, suppliers often choose good products to offer, but over time, if not controlled, it will be difficult to maintain stable quality.
Authorities also face difficulties.
Ms. Pham Khanh Phong Lan, Director of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, said that in terms of management, the unit has increased regular and surprise inspections, and the Government has also increased the number of regular inspections of businesses. However, the difficulty is that there is not enough human resources and funding to do enough, especially in the sampling stage.
Specifically, the department currently has about 250 inspectors divided into 10 teams, each team is in charge of 3 districts with a very large number of businesses and stores, and a lot of work.
Regarding the sampling and testing stage, currently the main focus is on advocacy, because the law does not require supermarkets to specifically collect samples, how to collect them, or how often to collect samples. Meanwhile, state budget is limited.
"Taking a sample to test for pesticide residue costs millions of dong, equivalent to a whole batch of vegetables. Inspection is not a magic wand, an inspector alone cannot do it all, but needs more." market management, police...", Ms. Lan said.
Meanwhile, a representative of a local food safety management agency said that the regulation does not recognize the results of rapid food testing. If the results are not recognized, it will be difficult to get payment from the treasury when purchasing test kits.
Talking about supermarket management, Ms. Lan admitted that there are still supermarkets that "say one thing and do another" and do wrong things, so the role of state management agencies in control is very important.
"Supermarkets have their own budget and regulations with suppliers, so it's easier to do and they have to be aware of the importance of this. Because if there is a negative incident, in addition to being sanctioned according to regulations, it will also greatly affect the supermarket's brand," Ms. Lan commented.
Mr. Nguyen Nguyen Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade of Ho Chi Minh City, said that the role of controlling the input of supermarkets is very important, so it is necessary to have more solutions for these units soon, otherwise the situation of trading in poor quality food will continue to recur. consumer will still be insecure.
"We have launched the program "Controlling the quality of goods in Ho Chi Minh City", also known as "Green Tick of Responsibility", and the distribution systems are determined to accompany. This is the best solution currently for the distribution systems to overcome this control loophole", Mr. Phuong affirmed.
Any other solutions?
Recently, Ho Chi Minh City and the provinces of the Central Highlands sat together in a conference to implement a cooperation program to control the quality of goods. Reviewing the story of Bach Hoa Xanh selling prices soaked in banned substances, the conference had many indignant opinions and concerns about the quality situation. dirty food present and offer solutions.
A representative of a food manufacturer in Ho Chi Minh City said that the number of hot inspection teams should be reduced because it is cumbersome, costly and often the business unit knows in advance and has prepared to deal with it. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the frequency of sample testing and fines by transparently announcing both good and bad results and posting them on the media.
Sharing the same view, from the perspective of a vegetable supplier, Mr. Tran Huy Duong, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Langbiang Farm Company Limited (Lam Dong), said that what is needed now is to be transparent and publicize all quality control steps that supermarkets implement themselves and that state management agencies apply and monitor.
Even encourage consumers to proactively bring food samples for testing and the authorities have the obligation to support in making these testing results public, ensuring transparency.
Mr. Dao Ha Trung, Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Technology Association, said that it is necessary to further increase traceability by applying advanced technologies. This does not cost much but in return, it helps to control product information well, thereby making it easier to come up with quality management solutions.
"The unit is ready to provide free support for 5 Central Highlands provinces with quality control, traceability, and automatic recall services applicable to 3 million products, and for businesses in Ho Chi Minh City with 5 million products.
After the free period, if businesses want to continue using this service, they only have to pay 35 VND for a product. This greatly helps the "Responsible Green Tick" program that the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Industry and Trade is implementing to gradually increase transparency and improve the quality of food in the distribution system.
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