Vietnam has paid a lot of attention to food safety and hygiene as the National Assembly has passed a law on the issue, which will come into effect in July 2011.
The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) held a forum of donors’ on food safety in Hanoi on December 1. The head of its International Cooperation Department, Luong The Phiet, reaffirmed the important role played by farm produce in the national economy and the need to improve the quality of farm produce to improve people’s standard of living.
Andrew Smith, a development officer at the Canadian embassy in Vietnam , said that once food safety is ensured, Vietnamese farm produce will have more opportunities to export as well as contribute to improving the health of consumers.
The forum, co-sponsored by the International Support Group, is a venue for international donors and Vietnamese agencies to exchange information and experience in food safety and work out ways to effectively use international aid in this field.
The forum was concluded with the debut of the website www.thucphamantoanviet.vn which provides information on the quality of farm produce.
The event was part of a project on increasing the quality of food and agricultural products, worth 16 million CAD and funded by the Canadian International Development Agency. The five-year project will run until 2013 to improve quality and increase access to overseas markets for Vietnamese farm produce.
Food safety, hygiene-top priority
Vietnam has paid a lot of attention to food safety and hygiene as the National Assembly has passed a law on the issue, which will come into effect in July 2011.
Source: VNA
