Ho Chi Minh city firm in pork traceability

Workers handle pork at Binh Dien wholesale market. HCMC authorities have just launched a 10-day program to bolster pork traceability - PHOTO: HT

HCMC – HCMC authorities have just launched a 10-day program to bolster pork traceability by intensifying checks on the origin of pork supplied to the city from August 12 to 22, said Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the municipal Department of Industry and Trade.

Beside two wholesale markets, the city will focus on checking the origin of pork transported in vehicles to the city and those traders committing violations will face heavy fines.

The city will establish three interdisciplinary inspection teams to conduct quick tests of pork samples to find whether they contain microorganisms and banned substances. Vendors will be sanctioned if the pork they sell has no traceability tags and fails to meet food safety and hygiene standards.

These teams will inspect vehicles on main roads leading to the city via northwestern, northeastern and southwestern gateways such as Trung Luong Expressway, Highway 50 and Nguyen Van Linh Parkway, and slaughterhouses in Binh Tan District and Binh Dien wholesale market.

Especially, the HCMC government has directed Binh Dien wholesale market’s management company to control closely the origin of pork sold at the market and ask pork vendors to implement the program seriously.

Thus, the city has applied heavier sanctions to deal with violations after a period of ineffective implementation of a program to make sure all pork on sale has clear origin. However, HCMC still creates favorable conditions for vendors and their vehicles to transport pigs and pork with traceability tags to the city for slaughtering and sale at two wholesale markets.

According to latest data of the Department of Industry and Trade, on August 12 alone, 9,495 pigs were brought into the city from other parts of the country, with 8,055 of them through Binh Dien and Hoc Mon wholesale markets. There are 7,351 pigs wearing traceability tags from farms, 6,387 from slaughterhouses and 3,093 from wholesale markets.

The number of pigs wearing traceability tags at the wholesale markets reached 33-36% of total pigs imported into the city by August 12. Hoc Mon wholesale market has effectively implemented the program with 100% of pigs sold at the market wearing traceability tags while the ratio in Binh Dien market was only 25%, or even at 0% at sometime.