Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Food safety is still a major concern at public canteensin Hanoi, especially at factory cafeterias in industrial zones, according toofficials.

Tran Van Chung, deputy director of the Hanoi Department of Health, said severalfood poisoning cases have occurred at public canteens in the city in recent months.He blamed substandard food at canteens and low awareness of their staff.

In the latest incident, 29 trainees from Song Hong Human Resources JSC sufferedfood poisoning after having dinner provided by New Sky Food Processing andTrading Ltd. They were rushed to local hospitals for emergency treatment afterexperiencing stomach aches, headaches, vomiting and high fevers.

The incident has prompted competent agencies to tighten the management ofpublic canteens at industrial zones and schools in the capital.

According to the health department, there are 4,256 public canteens in thecity, including 457 in industrial zones.

Hoang Thi Minh Thu, deputy head of the Hanoi Food Safety and Hygiene Division,said inspectors from the Hanoi Department of Health and Hanoi Food Safety andHygiene Division have inspected 133 public canteens, including 96 in industrialzones.

Fourteen canteens were found to have violated food safety and hygiene andsafety standards, with total punishment amounting to 85.5 million VND (3,700USD).

Common violations included failing to store food samples properly, usingsubstandard facilities and a lack of regular health examinations for kitchenstaff.

Nguyen Thanh Phong, director of the Ministry of Health’s Administration of FoodSafety and Hygiene said food poisoning at public canteens is a major problem.

According to him, ready-to-eat food was the biggest issue leading to foodpoisoning.

Surveys conducted by the administration showed that about 70 percent of foodpoisoning cases came from catering services, he said.

Inspections revealed that only 20 percent of companies at industrial andprocessing zones set up their own public canteens, while the rest signedcontracts with food processing and trading companies.

Ngo Dinh Loat, deputy head of the Hanoi Agro-Forestry Fisheries QualityAssurance Division, said with a population of more than 10 million, the demandfor food in the city was big.

Hanoi could produce only 60 percent of the food and the rest comes fromneighbouring provinces.

Ha Linh Chi, a representative from Panasonic Appliances Vietnam Ltd Company,said the biggest challenge in ensuring food safety in canteens was the honestyof food suppliers. 

Most public canteens could show certificates declaring the origin of food andsample tests were used, but it was impossible to ensure they met standardsstated in signed contracts or not, she said.

Vo Viet Dung, chairman of Nam Hanoi Food Processing JSC, agreed, citing thefact that some small enterprises affiliated with big firms who specialise inproducing safe food. However, they still purchased food with unclear origin tosupply public canteens.

Dung also said the low cost of a meal for workers at industrial zones poseddifficulties for companies in ensuring nutrition and quality.

Tran Kieu Huong, a representative from Ba Sao Food Service Ltd company, agreed.

“A meal for workers must meet certain quantity and quality of food while thecompany pays only 18,000 VND per dish,” she told the Ha Noi Moi (NewHanoi) newspaper.

In addition, she said, companies who provided safe food couldn’t meet therequests of every canteen as they were scattered in different places.

To tackle these problems, city authorities had signed contracts with 21provinces and cities in the north to provide safe food, Loat from HanoiAgro-Forestry Fisheries Quality Assurance Division said.

Quick response (QR) code applications had been deployed to trace the origin ofagricultural products to control quality. This enabled companies to choose theright products, he said.

Regarding communications activities, Huong stressed the need to improve theawareness of those involved.

It was necessary to educate managers, chefs and staff working at canteens andfood processing companies about their responsibility in ensuring safe food, shesaid.

To ensure food safety at public canteens, Tran Van Chung, deputy director of theHanoi Department of Health, said the origin of the food would be tightened andinspections on public canteens would be strengthened. Any violations should bestrictly dealt with.

The management board of industrial zones should enhance cooperation with publiccanteens, he said. Only units meeting standards were allowed to operate andonly those who had undergone training on food safety were permitted to workthere.-VNS/VNA