Ensuring food safety during the festive season

In order to ensure the health of people and tourists when coming to participate in the festival, functional forces, Party committees and authorities at all levels have increased propaganda, inspection, guide owners of food production and trading establishments to strictly comply with regulations, ensure food safety and hygiene.

In the province, there are nearly 300 festivals with different large and small scales, mainly in January with a huge number of participants. This is also a “golden” time for food service businesses. In order to ensure food safety and hygiene conditions during the festive season, right before the Lunar New Year 2023, The Provincial Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on Food Safety and Hygiene has issued a Plan to implement the work of ensuring food safety during the Lunar New Year and Spring Festivals in 2023.

Officers of Market Management Team No. 1 inspected food business establishments at Chua Tien festival (Chi Lang ward, Lang Son city)

On that basis, the Department of Health has focused on propagating and raising people’s awareness of the importance of ensuring food safety during the Lunar New Year and festive seasons. Direct communication is integrated through meetings and mass activities in residential areas with more than 1,700 meetings. Therefore, the Department of Health has actively coordinated with the Party committees and local authorities to propagate and guide business households in the area, especially businesses in street food and street vendors, to comply with the provisions of the law on ensuring food safety and hygiene.

Along with propaganda, the Department of Health coordinated with the People’s Committees of districts, city and related units to establish 212 inspection teams (1 provincial interdisciplinary inspection team, 11 district inspection teams and 200 commune, ward and township inspection teams) to organize the inspection of food safety and hygiene during the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival in 2023. Mr. Nguyen Nam Dung, Deputy Head of Provincial Food Safety and Hygiene Sub-Department said: The inspection is divided into 2 phases. Phase 1 from January 5 to January 18, 2023 and phase 2 from February 6 to March 7, 2023. In which, the delegations will focus on inspecting food service establishments, street food establishments; periodically or irregularly inspecting food hygiene and safety at service establishments at relic sites.

In the first phase, the delegations inspected 304 food production and business establishments, catering services, and street food. Specifically, the province’s inter-sectoral inspection team inspected 22 establishments, handled administrative violations of 1 establishment with an amount of 4 million VND. The district and commune inspection teams inspected 282 establishments, handled 12 violations, and imposed an administrative fine of 31 million VND. Some major violations such as: Failure to ensure personal hygiene during food production and processing; not fully equipped with labor protection clothing as prescribed; storing food samples improperly…

Along with that, the functional sectors also actively inspect and tighten the management of food safety and hygiene. Mr. Trieu Manh Tuan, Vice Captain of Market Management Team No. 1 (Lang Son City) said: To ensure the quality of goods sold on the market during festive season, Market Management Team No. 1 continues to coordinate with relevant agencies to strengthen inspection and control the observance of regulations on food safety and hygiene for restaurants and food service establishments, especially in the festival area. The inspection process is associated with the propagation of policies and laws in commercial business to organizations and individuals.

The tightening of management and strict handling of violations of food safety and hygiene has contributed to raising awareness of law observance of business establishments in the area. Ms. Tran Thi Yen, owner of a grilled food vendor in Tan Thanh pagoda area (Van Lang district) said: I have been in the grilled business for many years, regularly inspected and guided by inspection and inter-sectoral inspection teams of the district and province, especially during the Lunar New Year and Spring Festival, so the quality assurance as well as the safety always comes first. When importing food, we always pay attention to the expiry date, the place of manufacture. When processing, I always wear gloves, masks, preserve fresh, delicious and hygienic food to provide to customers.

With the implementation of strict inspection by functional departments, it is believed that people and tourists will enjoy a joyful festival atmosphere and enjoy delicious food, ensure safety in Lang Son province.