An inspection team checks food safety and hygiene at Phuc An Food Company in the Mekong Delta province of Tay Ninh. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) - Producers and businesses are only allowed touse food additives permitted by the Ministry of Health to ensure products haveno negative impacts on users’ health.
The rule is stipulated by a freshly-released GovernmentDecree which details regulations on the implementation of some articles ofthe Food Safety Law.
The use of allowedadditives must meet food safety and hygiene regulations, meaning that theycannot exceed the permitted level, have clear origins and meet other relatedtechnical and management requirements.
The decree also regulatesthe granting of certificates on food safety and hygiene, state inspections ofimported and exported products, food labelling and food advertising.
According to experts, foodwith excessive amounts of additives can be especially toxic to children, whosegrowing bodies are sensitive to chemicals.
For example, if childreneat food that contains lead, it will build up in their system and potentiallycause bone cancer. Food that contains borax affects the nervous system and cannegatively impact brain development.
Negative impacts associatedwith exposure to toxic food additives can include acute food-poisoning andcancer, according to experts.
Recently, there have been concerns about the risks of allergicreactions and asthma from certain additives.
The Ministry of Health has set up six inspection teams to checkfood safety and hygiene in 12 provinces and cities - Hue, Da Nang, Hanoi,Quang Ninh and Son La, as well as Hoa Binh, HCM City, Binh Duong and Ca Mau, inaddition to Kien Giang, Lang Son and Cao Bang.
Theinspections willfocus on food being prepared for Tet. The inspection will lastuntil April 2.
NguyenThanh Phong, director of the Vietnam Food Administration, said the inspectorswould pay great attention to food origin, additives and preservationsubstances. Food samples would betested and the results announced widely.
Last year,inter-disciplinary inspectors visited more than 625,000 places nationwide,finding violations at nearly 124,000, according to the National SteeringCommittee on Food Safety.
Of the violators, more than35,700 had to pay fines exceeding a total of 61 billion VND (2.7 million USD).
The numbers of thosepoisoned by food in 2017 declined, but the number of fatality doubled that of2016. The country recorded 139 cases of food poisoning last year with 3,869people affected, down 27 cases.
A total of 24 peopledied from food poisoning in 2017.-VNA
VNA
