Saigon Co.op has organised a programme to educate its suppliers on quality parameters for their inputs with the support of BSI Vietnam, a company specialising in assessment and certification of and training in standards for quality management and food hygiene and safety.

In the first stage of the programme, the retailer apprised them of the technical requirements for 25 groups of vegetables and fruits and more than 200 mandatory quality requirements and other conditions.

The programme also told them about specific regulations on vehicles, temperatures, manner of loading, storage, time, and others for delivering the goods to its distribution points.

According to BSI experts, this code of conduct will help Saigon Co.op further standardise the selection of goods, classify distributors and ensure the stability of the goods quality.

Pham Trung Kien, deputy general director of Saigon Co.op, said this is one of a series of programmes aimed at controlling the quality of inputs to achieve international standards, especially during the upcoming Tet (Lunar New Year) festival, the biggest shopping season in the year.

Saigon Co.op is set to stock goods worth VND3 trillion (US$131 million) for Tet and improve quality control for key products by five to 10 times, he said.

It wants to closely associate with manufacturers and suppliers to work towards further improving goods quality, especially fresh foods, he said.

Products that meet international standards would also be exported to regional markets via Saigon Co.op, he added. — VNS