On February 3, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety said that it had inspected 130 convention centers and wedding restaurants in the city. Of which, 121 establishments were inspected, and 9 establishments did not conduct inspections due to no longer operating, transferring or changing legal entities.
Through inspection, it was recorded that 1 establishment had violations of Business of food services with a Certificate of eligibility for food safety but expired, the fine amount was 25,000,000 VND.
Most large-scale convention centers and wedding restaurants strictly comply with food safety regulations. The storage of records and invoices proving the origin of food is carried out relatively fully. The majority of employees and managers directly involved in production and business at establishments have Certificates of Conformity with Food Safety Knowledge Training.
Out of a total of 121 inspected establishments, 120 establishments fully complied with regulations, reaching a rate of 99.17%.
According to the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, this very high compliance rate is a welcome sign, showing that the awareness of law compliance of most establishments in the field of food safety has been significantly improved. This also reflects the effectiveness of propaganda and dissemination of laws and inspection work of the sector in the city.
However, at some times when there is overload of passengers, the hygiene of the processing area and the management of eating utensils in some places still pose a risk of unsanitary conditions, which need to be regularly monitored (as reflected in the press about leaving utensils on the floor and not strictly managing seasonal staff).
In the coming time, the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety will continue to conduct surprise inspections of establishments when there are signs of violations. At the same time, strengthen propaganda to improve food safety knowledge, requiring business owners to be directly responsible for supervising the hygiene process of employees, especially seasonal employees, to ensure food safety in accordance with the law.
In mid-January, the Food Safety Department (Ministry of Health) received a report from a newspaper about the kitchen area of a conference and wedding center in Ho Chi Minh City not ensuring food safety and hygiene conditions. The Food Safety Department requested the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety to urgently implement many inspection and handling measures.
The Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety said that as soon as it received feedback and instructions from the Food Safety Department, the unit urgently reviewed and deployed surprise inspections of convention centers and wedding restaurants in the city. The unit has mobilized forces and closely coordinated with local authorities to ensure that inspection work takes place quickly and comprehensively, ensuring legality and effectiveness of local supervision.
