At a press conference providing information on socio-economic issues in Ho Chi Minh City on June 26, Ms. Pham Thi Xuan Hong - Deputy Head of the Department of Food Poisoning Monitoring and Information and Communications, Department of Food Safety of Ho Chi Minh City informed about the spontaneous business situation around the unit market in the city.
Currently, spontaneous markets are a form of business that is not licensed, not included in the planning, and does not ensure legal conditions and hygiene standards according to regulations. Therefore, spontaneous business poses a potential risk to food safety, while affecting urban order and social security.
"This is not a separate issue of the food safety industry but a common responsibility of the entire political system, in which the great role of local governments is" - Ms. Xuan Hong commented.
Faced with this situation, the Ho Chi Minh City People's Committee has established an interdisciplinary working group to resolve issues of security, order, food safety and environmental sanitation in areas around the unit market. In particular, the City Police were assigned to coordinate with local authorities to organize inspections, handle, and rectify the situation of spontaneous markets, ensure security, order, and environmental sanitation.
On the side of the Ho Chi Minh City Department of Food Safety, the unit closely coordinated with interdisciplinary inspection teams, at the same time, strengthened propaganda work, advised people not to buy, sell or consume foods of unknown origin that do not ensure safe hygiene conditions.
"Due to the characteristics of spontaneous business types being unstable and sellers not registering for business, frequently relocating and changing their location, effective control requires the synchronous and drastic participation of many forces, especially the grassroots government" - Ms. Xuan Hong said.
Previously, Lao Dong Newspaper also published an article about "The road around Ho Chi Minh City unit market has become a gathering place for dirty, floating food".
According to records, along the routes along Hoc Mon, Binh Dien, Thu Duc unit markets, many spontaneous markets sell food right on the ground and on the roadside. From meat, organs, vegetables to seafood..., all are displayed openly, with a roughly packed soil on the floor with cardboard or plastic bags. The water was flowing everywhere, flies were floating all over the food, but buying and selling activities were still bustling.
This situation raises great concerns about food safety, especially when Ho Chi Minh City is a large food consumer, with supply from many provinces and cities.
