Food safety in Festival: with a careful preparation

The National Rice Festival is coming near. It is expected that there are ten thousands visitors to be welcome to the town of the south west of Hau river. Restaurants, tea shops, suppliers of services are ready for a busy business in Vi Thanh town. For a good standard of food demand, the food safety is priorly cared by the sellers and appropriate authorities.

Just in the middle of November, 2009, the food, drink services in Vi Thanh town become very exciting. Following the interbranch inspectors of the Standby Medical Center of Vi Thanh town, supervisors of food safety in the town, it is shown that the business community has a good awareness of this matter. Mostly shops and inns have had a better re-arrangement than common days. Especially, owners of restaurants and food stalls have had new bowls, plates, glasses and chop sticks to welcome customers. Ms. Linh, owner of Van-Nhung food stall at Hai Ba Trung market (ward 1, Vi Thanh town), says: her breakfast menu consists of pig’s stripes soup (chao long), vermicelli and sour crab soup (bun rieu), noodle with seasoned and sauté beef (hu tieu), she employs five waiters/waitresses. For last months, she and her employees are taken a regular health check by the appropriate authorities. At the end of last October, the food stall owners are invited to attend the training course on food safety and considered for a license meeting standard of food safety…Mr. Nguyen Van Nghiep, the owner of food stall serving rice and roast pork chop, vermicelli and sour crab soup (bun rieu) on the street crossing the market says: “it is very timely for the propaganda and training of food safety done by the appropriate authority”. Because the food safety is very cared by the customers. The food stalls must be well-aired; the furniture, bowls and dishes must be clean, the cook and waiters must be tidy, the dishes shall be delicious”.

Doctor, Le Van Dung, Deputy-Director of the Standby Public Health Center- Vi Thanh town says: “ On the Festival occasion, there are a great number of visitors. Vi Thanh town consists of wards 1, 4 where many street shops of food and drink are located so the food safety inspection should be carefully done. There are more than ten of food stalls, so the guidances for beautiful looking arrangement must be done”. According to the statistics made by the inspector Hau Giang Department of Public Health, there are 975 households of business, processing and services of food and drink in Vi Thanh town. Consisting of 78 food processing and producing enterprises; 271 business households of consumer goods; 626 services of food and drink which focus inner the town. Doctor Nguyen Thanh Giang, Chief of Inspectors of Hau Giang Department of Public Health says: in order the food safety to be secured in the first-2009 Vietnam National Rice Festival in Hau Giang, Hau Giang Department of Public Health established a group of interbranch inspectors including the branch of Food safety, police force, branch of market management, branch of quality standard control…to take an inspection of food safety in all restaurants, food stalls, refreshment bars, grocery stores, markets, supermarkets in Vi Thanh town. Through the inspection, it is shown that conditions for operating are mostly satisfactory, the employees have full medical certificates… remarkably, there are guarantees for selling, processing the original foodstuff and sidewalk stalls and vendors are popularized carefully”.

Ms. Phuong, a coffee shopkeeper on Hai Ba Trung street says: “the coffee is supplied from an only company with its guarantee. And sugar is bought from Vi Thanh Sugar Mill. I have just bought a new furniture, coffee spoons, cups, glass, tea pots…we must re-decorate the shops to welcome distant visitors to the Festival. All is to satisfy customers!”. And Ms. Nguyen Thi Lan, a (Xiem Duck) duck porridge stall on Nguyen Trai street (ward 4, Vi Thanh town), says: “ I have made purchase orders for ducks (xiem ducks) from the home village. The ducks are being fed up for the Festival…customers must be served with the good meat. This is also the secret of trading – serving customers and keeping the tradename in the future. These days, the ward officials, and medical staffs have come here to make the propaganda about the food safety”.

The Festival is coming near. Traders in Vi Thanh town surely have a chance to popularize the local delicious dishes to nationwide visitors. This is also the way to attract customers who have opportunities to return to Hau Giang.
As planned, the group of interbranch of Hau Giang Department Public Health shall make the inspection in food and drink services, households of producing and trading foodstuff in Vi Thanh town from November 25, 2009 up to December 06, 2009. If any breach is made again, the penalty should be applied as stipulated. All is for the best Festival.

by THANH DUOC