Month of action for food safety and hygiene (April 15 – May 15): Efforts for community health

A rehearsal of investigating and handling a food poisoning incident that occurred at a crowded party in Nong Cong district (October 2024).

With more than 42,800 establishments producing, trading, processing food, providing food services and street food, including 22,800 production establishments, 11,900 business establishments, 4,400 food service establishments and 3,600 street food establishments, to strengthen food safety assurance, information, education and communication work on food safety continues to be strengthened by departments, branches, sectors, unions and authorities at all levels in many forms with rich content, and is focused on propaganda on key occasions of the year, such as: Lunar New Year, festival season, Month of Action for Food Safety, Mid-Autumn Festival... Along with that, the responsibility of State management on food safety of all levels and sectors is clearly defined; consolidated and improved from provincial to communal level; Knowledge, skills, and responsibility for ensuring food safety of cadres, party members, managers, food producers, traders, and consumers have been significantly improved; the number of safe food production and trading models, and safe agricultural, forestry, and fishery food supply chains have increased in both quantity and quality; a number of enterprises have invested in the production and trading of safe food in a closed chain, gradually meeting the demand for safe food consumption of the people in the province. Inspection, examination, supervision, and handling of violations of food safety in the province have been strengthened, contributing to the dissemination and popularization of legal regulations on food safety; handling and preventing unsafe food from circulating on the market.

In 2024, the province established 1,774 interdisciplinary and specialized inspection teams; inspected and examined 37,495 establishments, of which 35,946 establishments met the requirements (accounting for 95.9%), detected 1,549 establishments in violation (accounting for 4.1%); fined 1,322 establishments (accounting for 85.3% of violating establishments) with a total amount of VND 4,324.3 million, warned (without applying administrative sanctions) 227 establishments (accounting for 14.7% of violating establishments); confiscated and forced to destroy more than 3,000 food products such as cakes, candies, milk of all kinds and more than 2,000kg of animal organs of unknown origin and expired with a total value of confiscated and destroyed goods of more than VND 650 million; prosecuted 1 case and 10 defendants for the crime of producing and trading in fake food products. The main violations are: Trading in fake food, food of unknown origin, expired food; conditions of equipment and tools for production, trading, food preservation, and unsatisfactory hygiene conditions of the facility; failure to keep food samples and conduct three-step food inspection; use of food additives and preservatives not on the permitted list... There were no food poisoning cases in the province. Also in 2024, the Food Safety and Hygiene Department organized the signing of 250 commitments to ensure food safety for collective kitchens and restaurants in hotels; organized 14 conferences for 7 food safety assurance models; 28 food safety training courses for managers and people directly processing food in collective kitchens of schools in the province; 15 training courses to improve capacity for the line on inspection, examination, supervision, and prevention of food poisoning; 2 training courses to improve food safety knowledge for 260 people in corporate kitchens; 7 training courses for food service and street food establishments...

A rehearsal of investigating and handling a food poisoning incident that occurred at a crowded party in Nong Cong district (October 2024).

In addition to the achieved results, food safety assurance in the province still faces many difficulties, challenges, and potential risks of insecurity; violations of food safety regulations still exist and occur at all stages of production, business, and consumption...

From April 15 to May 15, 2025, Thanh Hoa will implement the Food Safety Action Month 2025 with the theme "Ensuring food safety, focusing on food safety in collective kitchens, catering services and street food". Accordingly, agencies, units, localities, and socio-political organizations will be mobilized to participate in the communication campaign on food safety. Through information, education, communication and inspection activities, and monitoring and supervision of compliance with legal regulations on food safety in the selection, production, processing, and trading of food, catering services and street food, in food advertising, etc., to minimize, prevent, and stop violations of food safety; Proactively control and improve food safety quality, prevent food contamination, minimize food poisoning and food-borne diseases, contribute to protecting and improving people's health and quality of life and promote socio-economic development.

Dr. Do Thai Hoa, Deputy Director of the Department of Health, said: The 2025 Food Safety Action Month is a highlight, a peak period, launching a communication campaign to comply with legal regulations on food safety in food production and trading activities; minimize violations in food production and trading; proactively prevent food contamination, minimize food poisoning, especially food poisoning cases that many people suffer from due to using unsafe food. Through the Action Month, we aim to promote propaganda, raise awareness, identify responsibilities and actions of Party committees, authorities and people in ensuring food safety...

Article and photos: To Ha

Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/thang-hanh-dong-vi-chat-luong-ve-sinh-an-toan-thuc-pham-tu-15-4--15-5-no-luc-vi-suc-khoe-cong-dong-245801.htm