Society
Significant progress in fisheries' environmental protection but challenges remain
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HCM CITY — The HCM City Department of Health last week inspected 25 fish-sauce and dipping-sauce processing and trading establishments and found 19 of them flouting food safety and hygiene regulations.
They were fined a total of VNĐ180 million ($8,000) while five had their operations suspended, Bùi Minh Trạng, chief inspector of the department, said.
The inspectors also destroyed more than 1,300 kilogrammes of soy sauce and 225kg of mắm nêm (fermented anchovy dipping sauce), Trạng said.
Nearly 1,500 litres of sub-standard fish sauce were seized.
Most of the violations were related to food safety and quality (33 per cent), labelling (31 per cent) and hygiene standards in processing, storage and washing of containers (20 per cent).
Thirty samples of soy sauces, fish sauces and fermented anchovy dipping sauces were taken from 25 facilities for testing, of which 18 failed to meet physico-chemical requirements and three, micro-biological requirements.
The inspections were carried out in co-operation with the market watchdog. — VNS
