HCM City officials inspect wholesale market for food safety

A government inspection team checks the safety and origins of food products at Bình Điền Market in HCM City’s District 8 on August 8. — VNA/VNS Photo

HCM CITY — A government inspection team drawn from various agencies visited Bình Điền Market on Thursday night to assess food safety at HCM City’s largest wholesale market.

The delegation led by the head of the city People’s Council’s cultural and social affairs division, Cao Thanh Bình, spent five hours to check the origins of goods sold at the market and take samples of pork for testing.

No food safety violations were detected.

Nguyễn Đăng Phú, deputy director of the Bình Điền Market Management and Trading Company, said 2,500 tonnes of goods are brought in daily and trading is worth VNĐ150 billion (US$5.9 million).

The market supplies 35 per cent of the city’s total cattle meat and 70 per cent of seafood consumed in the city and its surrounding areas.

Animal products brought from various provinces to the city are screened by veterinary management agencies there, ensuring origin and disease prevention, but agricultural and food products are not monitored at the cultivation and processing stages, he said.

The company regularly checks the quality of goods at the market and takes samples for testing, he said.

More than 900 food samples were tested in the first six months of the year and most met safety standards, he said.

He expressed concern about the persistent illegal trading in the residential areas near the market and areas along Nguyễn Văn Linh and Quản Trọng Linh streets in District 8 and Bình Chánh District, posing safety and hygiene risks.

Bình pointed out that city consumers get safe food with clear origins as the wholesale market tightens oversight, urged local authorities to crack down on these illegal sellers to ensure safety.

He said the market needs to speed up digital transformation, control the quality of inputs and trace the origin of its products. — VNS