Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development asks the Department of Livestock Production to submit a national technical standard for raw milk for approval by June this year. — Photo Vnexpress

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development will soon issue a national technical standard for raw milk, an official said.

Cao Duc Phat, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, said at a meeting with TH True Milk Corporation in Ha Noi on Tuesday that he had asked the Department of Livestock Production to submit a national technical standard for raw milk for approval by June this year.

Phat said the issuance of the standard will not facilitate the school milk programme but also promote domestic dairy production.

The school milk programme is meaningful as it helps in improving and enhancing Vietnamese children's stature and intelligence.

The agriculture ministry will co-ordinate with the Ministry of Health and relevant agencies in issuing mechanisms to push up the programme with a pilot programme in Nghe An Province and then expanding to other provinces and cities.

At the meeting, participants addressed obstacles relating to mechanism and financial resource for school milk programme implementation and proposed solutions to push up the programme.

Thai Huong, chairwoman of TH True Milk Group, suggested that it was necessary to make clear the difference between the concept of sterilised fresh milk and reconstituted milk.

This would not only benefit consumers a lot and improve the stature of Vietnamese children in the future but also create favourable conditions for enterprises when investing in the agricultural sector in general and the dairy industry in particular.

Nguyen Quang Thao, head of Food Security and Hygienic Department, under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, urged the Ministry of Health to clarify the concepts so that consumers can choose the right products. — VNS