Safety of Vietnam's fruit, vegetables under microscope

Viet Nam’s fruit and vegetable exports totalled an impressive 8.3 million tonnes this year alone, but the industry’s output remains unacceptable due to the lack of quality control. Recently, Vietnamese consumers received alarming information that many supermarkets were violating quality control codes for produce.In the past, such violations were mainly restricted to small markets carrying goods from unknown sources. But now, such goods have found their way into several major supermarkets in Ha Noi.This situation has served as a major wake-up call for all consumers who thought large establishments provided a guaranteed way of accessing high-quality goods. But the issue of food quality has not only been a local topic. Recently, it has received international media attention as well. This is due to the profound effects food quality can have on human health and on effective international economic integration (a particular concern for developing countries).Experts suggests that violations have occurred with such frequency in Viet Nam for a variety of reasons. However, the primary factor is a lack of capital for improving technology and food science. Many farmers and consumers in the country are still unaware of the serious effects pesticides and chemicals can have. Moreover, there is little knowledge of and less personal responsibility taken for the proper handling and transportation of foodstuffs.Currently, many scientifically advanced countries grow and control the quality of their produce by selecting seeds for growing, harvesting, and selling. For example, Australia uses a GAP (Good Agriculture Practice) code that doubles as a relied upon European standard. Therefore, their tomato fields, for example, usually yield between 400 to 500 tonnes/ha per year and produce an average income of US$500 million per year from only 5,000sq.m.In Viet Nam, though those yields are still unrealistic without advanced technology, at least quality control can be assured. Ass. Prof. Dr. Nguyen Van Bo, director of the Viet Nam Academy of Agricultural Sciences, said, "To solve these problems, the Agricultural Department needs to inspire technological and scientific research regarding product safety. We must work on applying biological technology, especially micro-organic technology, while concurrently promoting agriculture which is suitable to the environment in Viet Nam. This should take precedence for Viet Nam from now until 2020."Pham Thi Vuong, vice director of the National Institute of Plant Protection, voiced a similar opinion, adding that more centres are needed to analyse and verify chemical contents in vegetables. This would enable the Government to more closely monitor agricultural products before distribution to the market. In short, Viet Nam’s agricultural product must be made safer in order to meet the expectations of the general public and to surpass the standards necessarily created by health and safety experts, scientists, administrators, and producers alike.
Source: vnagency.com.vn
Publication date: 9/14/2007