Consumers in HCM City can now use a smartphone app to trace the origin of vegetables sold at Co.opmart, Lotte Mart, Big C and AEON supermarkets (Photo: VNA)HCM City (VNA) -Consumers in Ho Chi Minh City can now use a smartphone app to trace the originof vegetables sold at Co.opmart, Lotte Mart, Big C and AEON supermarkets undera programme run by the city Department of Agriculture and Rural Development andthe Digital Agriculture Association.
Huynh Thi Kim Cuc, the department’s deputy director, saidcustomers could use Zalo on Android or QR code scanning apps to scan the labelson the packages.
The information they contain includes where and when thevegetables are grown, packaged and distributed and the types of pesticides andfertilisers used, she said.
The initiativefollowed growing concerns about food safety, she said.
The department and theassociation has surveyed and collected data on vegetable farming models sinceMay last year.
Now only two co-operatives –Phuoc An Co-operative in Binh Chanh district and Phu Loc Co-operative in Cu Chidistrict – are part of the programme, and they are supplying 18 items, including cabbage,cucurbit, cucumber, bitter melon, broccoli,sweet potato buds, water spinach, and amaranth.
The programme would be piloted at select supermarkets andVietGap-certificated vegetable co-operatives until March before being expandedto all VietGap-certified co-operatives and more retailers, Cuc said.
She said her department and other relevant agencies would closelymonitor vegetable quality, carrying out surprise tests and quick tests.
Nguyen Phuoc Trung, the department’s director, said a million tonnesof vegetables are consumed in the city every year, with 24 percent supplied byfarms in the city around and the rest by those in other provinces.
The department said the citywas paying more and more attention to the safety of vegetables, resulting inplant protection drug residues decreasing year after year.
In fact, last year authoritiesdid not detect any plant protection drug residues exceeding permissiblelevels in key growing areas, down from 1 percent in 2015, it said.
Last month, the city launched aprogramme to enable consumers to trace pork origins at nearly 350 modernoutlets by downloading the QRCode decoding application from www.te-food.com to their devices.-VNA
Huynh Thi Kim Cuc, the department’s deputy director, saidcustomers could use Zalo on Android or QR code scanning apps to scan the labelson the packages.
The information they contain includes where and when thevegetables are grown, packaged and distributed and the types of pesticides andfertilisers used, she said.
The initiativefollowed growing concerns about food safety, she said.
The department and theassociation has surveyed and collected data on vegetable farming models sinceMay last year.
Now only two co-operatives –Phuoc An Co-operative in Binh Chanh district and Phu Loc Co-operative in Cu Chidistrict – are part of the programme, and they are supplying 18 items, including cabbage,cucurbit, cucumber, bitter melon, broccoli,sweet potato buds, water spinach, and amaranth.
The programme would be piloted at select supermarkets andVietGap-certificated vegetable co-operatives until March before being expandedto all VietGap-certified co-operatives and more retailers, Cuc said.
She said her department and other relevant agencies would closelymonitor vegetable quality, carrying out surprise tests and quick tests.
Nguyen Phuoc Trung, the department’s director, said a million tonnesof vegetables are consumed in the city every year, with 24 percent supplied byfarms in the city around and the rest by those in other provinces.
The department said the citywas paying more and more attention to the safety of vegetables, resulting inplant protection drug residues decreasing year after year.
In fact, last year authoritiesdid not detect any plant protection drug residues exceeding permissiblelevels in key growing areas, down from 1 percent in 2015, it said.
Last month, the city launched aprogramme to enable consumers to trace pork origins at nearly 350 modernoutlets by downloading the QRCode decoding application from www.te-food.com to their devices.-VNA
VNA
