Safe food for Tet

With only a few days until the nation’s traditional Tet holiday, food demand will be higher than normal. With improving living standards, customers are increasingly interested in clean, safe meals that can be readily traced back to their source. This is both a problem and an opportunity for farmers to modify their production practices and perspectives, progressively changing their focus from agricultural output to agricultural economics.

Producing safe veggies in the Tu Xa commune, Lam Thao district

Manh Lien Clean Vegetable, Root and Fruit Cooperative in Huong Non commune, Tam Nong district, is one of the units that forcefully and efficiently executes the production of clean, safe and healthy agricultural goods. The cooperative now has almost 4ha including about 7,000 m2 of greenhouses, and its typical output exceeds 100 tons per year, with income of roughly VND2 billion/year after deducting expenses and profits. Revenue reached about VND1 billion every year.

Mr. Nguyen Hoang Manh, Director of the Cooperative, stated: "The overall trend among customers today is clean food, food safety and cleanliness, traceable to origin... So, right from the start In manufacturing, the cooperative has resolved that clean, environmentally friendly production will be the predominant trend in the future. Because to the stringent implementation of standards such as GAP and HACCCP, the cooperative’s products have a strong market presence and are recognized as a four-star OCOP. The cooperative’s products are not only available at the Tam Nong district market, but also in many big supermarkets such as Coop Mart and Winmart+, reaching marketplaces in provinces and towns like Vietnam Hanoi, Lao Cai, Yen Bai, Hoa Binh, and Tuyen Quang..."

Consumers are progressively transitioning to agricultural and food goods with clear origins, which ensure food safety and cleanliness.

Since constructing the net house system and using high-tech production methods, the cooperative has always followed the five zero rule: no pesticides, no preservatives, no herbicides, no genetic manipulation, and no stimulation, contributes to lower material and labor expenses, and agricultural productivity is 2-3 times higher than previously.

With increased living standards and the advancement of science and technology, customers can readily track the origins of items, especially agricultural ones. Walking around Viet Tri city’s supermarkets, agricultural and food stores, you’ll see that retailers focus on distributing agricultural products, food, and vital consumer items that meet VietGAP certification or the retailer’s own production unit criteria. More significantly, customers are extremely confident and virtually exclusively select items with safety certification to protect their families' health.

Consumers prioritize foods with OCOP scores and labeling.

Ms. Do Thi Thanh Nga of Tho Son Ward in Viet Tri City stated, "Currently, choosing clean, safe food is a top priority." We always emphasize picking food that can be easily traced back to its origin by scanning a barcode or QR code, even if the price is greater than for identical items whose origin is unknown."

Current consumption patterns emphasize high-quality Vietnamese commodities, notably agricultural products. Consumers also expect improved quality, intelligence, and convenience from items. There are numerous organic foods on the market, including VietGAP, and the number of customers preferring these agricultural goods is growing. The Government’s National Strategy for Green Growth for the Period 2021-2030, announced in 2021, emphasized that sustainable consumption is one of the aims that must be accomplished. Functional branches and municipalities also encourage enterprises and manufacturing facilities to manufacture biodegradable, reusable, environmentally friendly goods, with the goal of promoting sustainable development and green economic growth. The issue is that the province’s enterprises and industrial facilities must make a constructive shift toward the aims of "green production, clean production, and sustainable consumption."

Fresh produce enterprises must comply with the food safety and cleanliness laws.

Dang Viet Phuong, Deputy Director of the Department of Industry and Trade, stated that consumers are no longer satisfied with agricultural products of unknown origin and prefer to buy products with clear origins from large stores and supermarkets, even if the prices are higher than in traditional markets. This is an excellent chance for areas to construct OCOP goods and generate safe agricultural and livestock products in a focused and sustainable way.

However, for safe foods to genuinely be “widely covered,” all levels and sectors must collaborate, the most essential of which is raising awareness among producers, companies, and individuals to become "wise consumers."

Quan Lam