HCMC Pilot Program “Selling Safe Food in Markets 2016-2020”

Disrupting the Vietnamese food supply

What HCMC has been doing

From 2013-2016 the Department of Industry and Trade in the city insisted in working out pilot markets to provide safe food in a bid to satisfy consumers’ demand of clean food.

DOIT liaised with relevant agencies to rate food safety in some markets in the city.

Created the “Pilot model for selling safe food in markets” program in the 2016-2020

HCMC Leadership

● Dao Ha Trung, chairman of the HCM City High Technology Association○ The association designed the free www.Te-Food.com smartphone app

that can be used to check the pork’s origin including how the pig has been raised and slaughtered.

● Nguyen Ngoc Hoa, deputy director of the HCMC Department of Industry and Trade.

● Veterinary Department● Tran Vinh Tuyen, deputy chairman of the HCM City People’s Committee● Huynh Tan Phat, deputy head of the HCM City Animal Health Department

Program Called “Selling Safe Food in Markets Program in the 2016-2020 Period”

● DOIT enforced agencies and departments to create pilot markets to sell safe food and safe food chains aiming to provide a closed food supply chains from farm, slaughter to processing and selling.

● The HCMC High Technology Association created a free mobile application to track QR-

Labels.● Pigs will be tracked from farms to slaughterhouses and markets or supermarkets.● Customers will be able to check the origin and journey of their pork by installing the free

www.Te-food.com mobile application to scan a QR-coded label on the pork’s package.● Customers will be able to know where the pig was raised, when and where it was

slaughtered, or from which wholesale market its meat was distributed.

HCMC High Technology Association Mobile App

VTV Story on www.Te-Food.com

Law

● The city will work out the project safe food chains for the period 2016-2020, through issuance of decision No.26 which will issue and withdraw the certificates of eligibility to partake in the chain.

● Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has encouraged individuals and organizations in the chain to have VietGap certificates.

Provinces

● The city set up models to control food by chains and cooperate with province in monitoring food from raising to consuming.

● Programs are teaching VietGap production models

Launching on 1 January 2017

The application will be available for download from December 10, and the program will be officially launched citywide on January 1, 2017.

● Fifteen pig-breeding farms and facilities, which can meet 100 percent of the city’s pork demand with their nearly 1,000 pig farms, have agreed to the plan,

● Eleven slaughterhouses ● Two wholesale markets (Binh Dien and Hoc Mon) - which cover over 80

percent of the city’s pork supply, ● Four traditional markets (Ben Thanh, An Dong, Hoa Binh, and Thai Binh) ● Five supermarket chains (59 outlets) - Co.opmart, Satramart, Big C, Aeon,

and Aeon Citimart ● Four convenience store chains (200+ locations) - Co.op Food, Satra Foods,

Sagrifood, and Vissan

Process Description I

● Pigs at breeding farms will wear two leg rings with an electronic stamp, which will record information about feed and vaccinations and other data. This will aid in individual identification of pigs as well.

● Before slaughtering, quarantine staff will check and grant electronic quarantine certificates for pigs that meet hygiene and food safety standards.

● When pork is transported to markets, market management boards and quarantine staff will use specialised machines to check the pork origins and allow the meat with clear origin to enter markets.

Process Description II

● Traders at traditional markets who take part in distribution of meat under the project will be provided with an “electronic stamp" (integrated with the stamp attached on leg rings) to put on pork products.

● Consumers could check product information with their smartphones and scan the stamp, or use devices set up at markets. They could also access the programme’s portal at www.te-food.com.

● Work with traders to disseminate the programme and mobilise more participants to expand the scale of the programme.

● Ho Chi Minh City will install surveillance cameras and increase inspections at kiosks selling pork in bazaars

Potential Problems

● Provinces that supply meat to the city market● The city consumes 10,000-10,500 pigs per day, but supplies meet only 18-20

per cent of demand.● The rest is supplied by other provinces, including Dong Nai, Binh Duong,

Long An, Ben Tre, Ba Ria-Vung Tau and Binh Thuan.● At wholesales markets, in addition to selling half sides of pork (that still have

an ID ring), traders also sell pork cuts (tenderloin, ribs and others) that are hard to manage since the ID sign no longer exists.

● Van Duc Muoi, general director of Vissan, said the implementation of the programme would help control the safety of meat sources, but would only become feasible when it was implemented at most breeding farms, slaughterhouses and retail places.

The Consumer Experience

“Consumers can check the product origin anytime and anywhere. The information will be automatically transferred to relevant agencies for easy inspection and control.”

● Pigs at breeding farms when sold to slaughterhouses will carry an electronic stamp providing information about pig farms within 24-48 hours.

● Quarantine staff will check and issue electronic quarantine certificates for pigs that meet hygiene and food safety standards in each process.

● When pork is transported to markets, market management authorities will use special tools to check the origin of pork and allow meat with clear origin to enter markets.

● Consumers could check pork information with a free Te-food app on their smartphones at www.te-food.com, or use devices set up at markets.

● Information about the origin of pork will be stored up to ten year● Used to analyze, screen or locate suspected objects, facilitating inspections by relevant

authorities.

Consumer Experience

Food Safety is an Issue in Hanoi

Three phone numbers can be used by consumers to get information about food safety violations

●The Department of Industry and Trade (1900585826)

●The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (043 3800115)

●The Department of Health (043 998 5765)

Data from the city’s Department of Health show that Hanoi has

~60,000 businesses working in food-related areas

400+ markets

90+ supermarkets

People Say it is Too Difficult to Track

●From the start of 2016 until mid-May, authorities identified more than 7,800 violations and collected fines of VND13 billion ($585,000).

●Some officials said that it is difficult for them to monitor and trace the origin of food sold at local markets and small stalls.