A new circular on street food safety regulations which took effect on January 20 has been widely ignored by vendors.
According to a DTiNews survey on January 21, most vendors in Danang City said that they knew nothing about Circular 30, with many of them denying any need to attend training courses on food safety.
A vendor on Ngo Gia Tu Street said she had never attended a training course on food safety although she had earned living by through the business for 10 years.
Another seller in front of Phan Chu Trinh High School in Danang City said she didn’t want to use gloves for selling food because it would slow down her after-school food service for pupils.
Mrs. Nhung, a rice ball seller in front of universities along Xuan Thuy Street in Hanoi said she only cared about how to select a favourable location to avoid the police, and wasn’t worried about having a food certificate because she thought her customers wouldn’t care about it.
According to food stall owners along Hao Nam Street in Hanoi regulations relating to wearing gloves for one-time use only or that food should be stored 60cm above the ground were unnecessary.
Speaking with a DTiNews reporter, Nguyen Minh Chien, Head of the Danang Food Safety Department, said, “After receiving the circular from the Ministry of Health, in December last year, we held seminars to promote food safety regulations, including street food.”
He also admitted difficulties in food safety management of vendors in line with Circular 30, as vendors often moved location or opening times.
Vendors selling street food without wearing gloves
To improve the situation, the department would propose setting up inspection teams to tighten control over vendors in front of schools and industrial parks.
Local authorities would also request vendors to register their business activities and participate in food safety courses as well as give them regular medical check-ups.
According to Minister of Health Nguyen Thi Kim Tien, agencies will set up eight inspection teams to check food safety in 24 cities and provinces from now until the Tet Holiday.
“The type of situation in which food outlets and drinking establishments are located next to drains and a bucket of water is used to wash hundreds of bowls and chopsticks must be ended. It is essential to ensure minimum food safety requirements,” the minister emphasised.
