Nguyễn Văn Thuận, head of the Quality and Organic Agriculture Division at the National Agro-Forestry-Fisheries Quality Assurance Department. Photo courtesy of SAFEGRO

Việt Nam News speaks to Nguyễn Văn Thuận, head of the Quality and Organic Agriculture Division at the National Authority for Agro-Forestry-Fishery Quality, Processing and Market Development under the Ministry of Agriculture and Environment on food safety management.

The wholesale markets and local markets currently distribute about 80-90 per cent of food and ensure livelihoods for many households involved in business. What are the main challenges in food safety management at traditional markets and what solutions has the department implemented to improve food safety standards at wholesale and local markets?

In Việt Nam, the distribution and consumption of products are primarily concentrated in wholesale and local markets.

Wholesale markets serve as a transit point for products coming from production areas, then distributing to local markets, communal kitchens, small markets and even shops. Wholesale markets are mainly located in major cities like Hà Nội, HCM City, Đà Nẵng and Cần Thơ.

For smaller provinces or areas not close to wholesale markets, local markets are still the main direct food supply point for consumers. Not only consumers but also communal kitchens source their food from local markets.

Managing food safety at wholesale and local markets is crucial. The first challenge is controlling the origin and traceability of products.

Local markets located on the street side are popular in Việt Nam. VNS Photo Khánh Dương

Do these products have traceability information? Are they compliant with food safety standards? Food sources are diverse and fragmented.

If we are unclear about the origin and production conditions in those areas, we can't know for sure if the products sold at the market are safe.

The second challenge comes from the transportation process.

If the transportation doesn’t meet the necessary conditions for each type of product, it can compromise food safety.

For example, transporting meat requires hygienic containers and depending on the conditions after slaughter or capture, proper temperature control must be maintained. Poor storage conditions can degrade product quality. When quality declines, sellers don't get a good price.

The third challenge is ensuring food safety conditions at the market itself. Even if the product comes from a good source and is transported properly, if the market’s equipment and tools are inadequate, it still creates food safety issues.

Currently, people are paying more attention to food traceability, meaning consumers are increasingly interested in a closed-loop process from cultivation, harvesting, processing to consumption. What initiatives has the department taken to enable consumers to trace the origin of their food and access safer agricultural products from farm to table?

A comprehensive management approach to ensure food safety is something the National Authority for Agro-Forestry-Fishery Quality, Processing and Market Development, along with the Safe Food for Growth (SAFEGRO) project, is working towards.

We are rolling out a project that covers the entire production chain from farm to table, specifically from the cultivation, livestock, aquaculture to processing, distribution and consumption in wholesale markets, local markets and even communal kitchens.

We are implementing solutions to manage every step in this chain. Each process and actor in the chain must meet the minimum requirements set by Việt Nam.

To earn consumer trust, traceability tools play a critical role. Consumers will be able to trace where their food comes from and which stages it has gone through.

However, hidden risks or food safety issues need to be controlled by the production facilities and regulatory authorities. Are those control measures properly monitored? Is there a system for issuing warnings? All this information is available in the traceability software system developed with SAFEGRO support.

SAFEGRO has integrated food safety culture into training programmes from preschool to university levels. How do you assess the significance of those training programmes in raising awareness about food safety from children to young adults?

The project’s name 'Safe Food for Growth' reflects the focus not only on implementing technical aspects of food safety but also on addressing the root causes of the issue, looking toward a future with broader development.

We don’t want the project to only solve specific issues for Việt Nam or address a particular angle. We aim to foster long-term progress.

The project has supported preschool education by helping communal kitchens prepare safe meals for children. They also train kitchen staff to adhere to food safety regulations, ensuring that the staff protect the health of future generations.

Việt Nam has over 10 universities offering programmes in food safety. However, if training is only theoretical, students will face challenges when they graduate and enter the workforce and will need further training.

We’ve studied the experience of university-level training in Canada and around the world to help universities develop more practical, application-based programmes that are updated and innovative.

Looking even further, the engineers and graduates SAFEGRO has trained will go on to work in institutes, schools, centres and businesses where they will continue to teach and pass on their knowledge to the next generations.

Does the department have any plans or directions for raising community awareness about food safety and building a food safety culture within the community?

Public awareness, dissemination, training and workshops are some of the most important tasks for the Government in ensuring food safety quality.

Every year, the National Authority for Agro-Forestry-Fishery Quality, Processing and Market Development, along with provincial and municipal authorities, implement plans to carry out these activities.

The main focus is to promptly inform the public, producers and businesses about new regulations and policies from the Government so they can understand and access them.

We also enhance controls after training and post-inspection to evaluate how these initiatives are being implemented.

We aim to incorporate food safety culture into social issues. We cooperate with organisations such as the Việt Nam Women's Union, the Việt Nam Farmers' Union and other social organisations to integrate gender equality and food safety culture into the dissemination of regulations.

We recognise that food safety is everyone’s responsibility, and when the responsibility is shared by the community, we believe that the work of ensuring food safety will improve over time. VNS