Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc delivers a speech at the teleconference on food safety on Saturday. VNA/VNS Photo Thống Nhất

HÀ NỘI — Prime Minister Nguyễn Xuân Phúc has called for action to be taken to ensure food safety in 2020 while chairing a teleconference on food safety on Saturday.

He also ordered agencies to punish all food safety violations without overlooking any cases.
According to the Ministry of Health, after two years of implementing the Prime Minister’s directive on food safety, authorities had prosecuted 28 cases with 42 defendants for violating regulations, including the trade of counterfeit food and food additives.
In 2019, the country recorded 76 food poisoning cases that killed eight people. 
PM Phúc recognised some achievements in the field. For example, major cities like Hà Nội, HCM City and Hải Phòng had focused on developing clean food production chains with neighbouring production areas, and most cities and provinces had set up industrial slaughterhouses.
However, he also pointed out difficulties such as the operation of over eight million small-scale households, which pose risks in terms of food safety.
The use of additives without clear origin still existed, while public awareness remained low, he added.
Ensuring food safety was important, and was the responsibility of the Government and authorities at all levels, the PM said.
He suggested expanding safe food production and business chain models and completing a project to develop organic agricultural products, while increasing public awareness about food safety. - VNS