Most of the countries which import Vietnamese seafood has made stringent regulations on the quality management and Vietnamese export try to meet.
However, with the same products, when it is sold to domestic people in order to use every day, it is not to be bound by any stage of any quality control.
Checking with... sensory
Binh Dien agricultural products market (District 8), focal supply seafood to the Ho Chi Minh, on average it is received marine products up to 4,000 tons every week, approximately 500 tons per night, including two thirds of products from marine fishing, rest of them is fish.
Total marine products are mainly from the western provinces, Ba Ria - Vung Tau province and some provinces of central of Vietnam, it is carried to Binh Dien market by the market traders, and then consign it to the smaller markets and retailers.
Currently, as the market management board, there are over 400 businesses which sell both dried and fresh seafood. The monitor of preservative technology, the sanitation conditions of each seafood business are often performed by seven staffs of department of quality management and protection of fisheries resources in Ho Chi Minh City.
Most types of seafood are used in plastic trays, transported by cold truck, when products are come to markets; traders will classify and then replace the ice, then use the tray, display on shelves for sale.
Unlike some foods like meat, chicken, foods on every transportation which go into the city has a clearly source; the goods owners must show certificates of quarantine of shipments issued by local animal health agency (where exported goods); the processing, slaughtering, also being monitored by a veterinary Ho Chi Minh City.
That is, in extent, a chicken, pig sold anywhere in the city can be accessed on the original sale. With the seafood in Binh Dien agricultural products market, as department of quality management and protection of fisheries resources in Ho Chi Minh City, this unit has just monitored by sensory, like checking whether seafood in the market is fresh or not, whether the preservative storage contains right or wrong.
But we don’t know exactly where the goods come from. Furthermore, traders will not need to present any document when putting products on the Binh Dien market. Test for seafood quality base on the sample is done only periodically, about every 2 months.
From the beginning of 2009 until now, department has just held only four samples to check for banned substance residues. The result is some indicators of preservatives such as urea, antibiotics, borax are under the allowable threshold, but the rate of microbial infections in some forms is too high; particularly in the form of tuna in one depot, Histamine contains up to 700 mg / kg, while the limit is less than 100 mg / kg.
Monitoring from the source
Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Mr. Luong Le Phuong had admitted that seafood for domestic consumption has not had any stage which monitored the quality of the appropriate authorities. Or exactly, it is being floated.
Fishermen still often use a “bitter powder”, exactly name chloramphenicol, a carcinogenic toxic to fish instead of ice. A fisherman mentally calculated to preserve 25-30 tons of seafood in a month time to the sea, need 1200-1500 ice cubes, equivalent to 12-15 million VND.
However, when ure, borax, chloramphenicol replace instead of ice for frozen seafood is not only cost several times cheaper, but keep the freshness of fish, squid longer...
Consumers have the right to question the responsibility of supervising of agencies that have duty "door guard" for food hygiene.
Representative of department of quality management and protection of fisheries resources in Ho Chi Minh City said that this unit is "corrective" those limitations mentioned above with a program for record management in quality of seafood in Binh Dien market.
Follow this way each owner of depot will be disseminated knowledge about the harmful effects of using banned preservatives, regulations to control hazards about unsafe hygiene such as microbial infections, bacterial contamination. Each owner should supervise the environment brick foundation, water, trays, ice, and personal hygiene.
After having the record of quality of markets, department has the next step is to build file of accessing the source (like veterinary food).
Currently, department is working with some provinces as Ca Mau, Kien Giang, Binh Thuan to open the training courses about the knowledge of seafood safety and hygiene for the fishermen, the owner of the collection depot. The aim is to the beginning of 2010 we will know the path way of each type of seafood when it is come into the city; simultaneously, we minimize the usage of banned preservatives in seafood. /.
Source: Kinh te & Do thi
Translated by Vietfish Community
