Aquaculture for all

Food Safety Month Targets National Improvements

VIET NAM - A nationwide campaign to improve food safety is about to get underway in Viet Nam. It will be supported by all sectors of the food chain - from primary producers to wholesalers and retailers.

Action for Food Hygiene Quality and Safety, which runs from 15 April to 15 May 2008, is an industry wide initiative aimed at improving the national capacity of managing food safety quality.

Projects include education and information campaigns, building systems on food poisoning and food-related diseases control as well as analysing food poisoning threats. There are also plans to ensure food safety during the farming, processing and storage of farm produce and deal with food sold on pavement food shops.

Aquatic products are in focus with activities aimed at ensuring quarantine warranty, environmental purity and food safety for aquaculture.

A recent survey has shown that numbers of people involved in production, trade and consumption of food well educated in food safety have increased six percent, seven percent and eight percent, respectively. The improvements have been seen since 2006, when the last survey was conducted, says the Vietnamese Government.

Medical inspectors, who have raided almost all food processors, providers and shops nationwide, found out that almost 76 per cent of them meet food safety standards, but duly fined the remaining 30 percent for violations.

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