An inspection team checks food safety and hygiene at Phuc An Food Company in the Mekong Delta province of Tay Ninh. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – and are only allowed to
use food additives permitted by the Ministry of Health to ensure products have
no negative impacts on users’ health.
The rule is stipulated by a freshly-released Government
Decree which details regulations on the implementation of some articles of
the Food Safety Law.
The use of allowed
additives must meet food safety and hygiene regulations, meaning that they
cannot exceed the permitted level, have clear origins and meet other related
technical and management requirements.
The decree also regulates
the granting of certificates on food safety and hygiene, state inspections of
imported and exported products, food labelling and food advertising.
According to experts, food
with excessive amounts of additives can be especially toxic to children, whose
growing bodies are sensitive to chemicals.
For example, if children
eat food that contains lead, it will build up in their system and potentially
cause bone cancer. Food that contains borax affects the nervous system and can
negatively impact brain development.
Negative impacts associated
with exposure to toxic can include acute food-poisoning and
cancer, according to experts.
Recently, there have been concerns about the risks of allergic
reactions and asthma from certain additives.
The has set up six inspection teams to check
food safety and hygiene in 12 provinces and cities – Hue, Da Nang, Hanoi,
Quang Ninh and Son La, as well as Hoa Binh, HCM City, Binh Duong and Ca Mau, in
addition to Kien Giang, Lang Son and Cao Bang.
The
inspections will
focus on food being prepared for Tet. The inspection will last
until April 2.
Nguyen
Thanh Phong, director of the Vietnam Food Administration, said the inspectors
would pay great attention to food origin, additives and preservation
substances. Food samples would be
tested and the results announced widely.
Last year,
inter-disciplinary inspectors visited more than 625,000 places nationwide,
finding violations at nearly 124,000, according to the National Steering
Committee on Food Safety.
Of the violators, more than
35,700 had to pay fines exceeding a total of 61 billion VND (2.7 million USD).
The numbers of those
poisoned by food in 2017 declined, but the number of fatality doubled that of
2016. The country recorded 139 cases of food poisoning last year with 3,869
people affected, down 27 cases.
A total of 24 people
died from food poisoning in 2017.-VNA
Source: VietnamPlus
