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| The HCM City Food Safety Management Board, HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority and HCM City Labour Union on Thursday signed an agreement to ensure food safety at industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs). - VNS Photo Thu Hằng |
Viet Nam News
HCM CITY — An agreement to ensure food safety at industrial parks (IPs) and export processing zones (EPZs) was signed on Thursday by the HCM City Food Safety Management Board, HCM City Export Processing and Industrial Zones Authority (HEPZA) and HCM City Labour Union.
Under the agreement, the number of food poisoning cases are expected to drop by 30 per cent by 2019.
The city’s Food Safety Management Board will help businesses set up automatic testing equipment at canteens, which will be checked regularly.
To ensure the quality of raw materials for meals, the city will provide the canteens with information on providers of safe raw materials.
Firms that purchase prepared meals have been asked to regularly check food safety and hygiene conditions at businesses that provide such meals.
Workers at IPs and EPZs are exposed to food-poisoning risks because of substandard canteens and poor-quality prepared meals, according to Phạm Khánh Phong Lan, head of the HCM City Food Safety Management Board.
Last year, a total of 311 workers in four separate incidents at IPs and EPZs in the city were diagnosed with food poisoning, Lan said.
The city is home to 17 IPs and EPZs where more than 1,160 firms employ nearly 286,000 workers, Nguyễn Hoàng Năng, head of HEPZA, said.
More than 210 firms have canteens that prepare meals for workers and the rest provide prepared meals or provide cash to workers to buy meals. —VNS
