To find a safe food supply source for the city, Food Safety Management Board of HCM City and Saigon Co.op, in collaboration with the Department of Agriculture and Rural Development of Binh Thuan Province, carried out a fact finding trip to the province and signed agreements to produce and buy agricultural and aquatic products meeting food safety standards.

The FSMB and the department signed an agreement to create safe supply chains for agricultural and fisheries produce, create favourable conditions for suppliers of the products to distribute their products in the city and co-ordinate for food safety oversight and inspection.

Meanwhile Saigon Co.op also signed an agreement with Muoi Tuyen Co Ltd of Binh Thuan to buy around 100 tonnes of seafood a month for its retail systems.

Pham Khanh Phong Lan, head of the FSMB, said the city’s agricultural production meets only 20-30 per cent of demand and the rest is supplied by other provinces and cities.

Therefore, the agreements are very important to ensure that farm and fisheries produce supplied to the city are monitored at every stage from production to processing, she said.

Mai Kieu, director of the Binh Thuan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development, said the province has difficulty finding steady demand for its products and so co-operation with HCM City to build a production and consumption chain for its farm and fishery produce is very important.

Nguyen Thanh Nhan, general director of Saigon Co.op, said ensuring hygiene and food safety through the safe food supply chain not only benefits consumers but also helps suppliers build brands.

Besides seafood, Saigon Co.op also wants to buy other products from Binh Thuan Province for its safe food supply chain, especially its speciality products like dragon fruit, he said. — VNS