In Vietnam, food safety requires harsher punishment for violators

You do not need a degree in food processing. You do not need to understand food preservation. You do not even need to know which additives are banned. Yet you can still serve meals to the masses.

And then we wonder – why is cancer so common? Why are there so many food poisoning cases? We complain, but in the end, everyone just shrugs and carries on.

Yes, there are regulations in place to protect consumers, but enforcement is incredibly difficult due to fragmented oversight.

When something goes wrong, no agency wants to take responsibility. A single dining table might contain food items regulated by three or even four different ministries.

Take the case at the end of 2024: four facilities in Dak Lak Province were caught using banned substances to grow bean sprouts.

Many pointed fingers at the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development then.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health has a Department of Food Safety and local branches – but bean sprouts are not even in their jurisdiction!

Even small issues reflect the larger problem.

The health sector once pushed hard for food vendors to wear gloves when handling cooked food. Today, no one checks, and bare hands are the norm again.

In response to consumer concerns, some vendors wear gloves – only to use the same gloves to handle cash and make change. So much for hygiene. The result? Foodborne illnesses and diet-related diseases are still alarmingly common.

As for punishment? Most food poisoning cases only lead to sanctions for large-scale producers. Street food vendors? They slip through the cracks. Again, it is every person for themselves.

The truth is if we expect an effective food safety system to protect millions of consumers, we are not there yet.

Look at China. Once notorious for unsafe food, they have turned things around. They have built a strict, internationally aligned system for managing imported agricultural products. Vietnamese exporters now scramble to meet those tough standards.

Too harsh? No – just fair. If I am buying food, it should be safe. I am not paying to get sick.

Vietnam has had its own scares, like pesticide residue on vegetables. At times, the situation felt hopeless. We launched 'clean vegetable' campaigns, but many failed, as critics claimed they were too hard on farmers.

Now, the mindset has shifted. Clean, safe produce is a must – and the next step is organic farming.

Change is possible, no matter how difficult – especially when the goal is protecting public health. The first step is raising awareness among producers and food handlers, backed by harsh, uncompromising penalties, similar to those in Decree 168, which recently brought tough new traffic fines.

Anyone entering the food business, whether as a processor or a street vendor, must understand and comply with food safety rules. It is the only way to truly prioritize consumers' health.

But that will only work if food safety management is centralized under a single authority. We must end the current system of 'five fathers, three mothers,' where no one takes full responsibility.

Only then can we hope to leave behind the nightmare of dirty, dangerous food. When fines are stiff enough, no one dares to use expired, maggot-ridden meat to make something 'tasty.'

Food processing must come with clear sourcing, minimum preservation standards, and an absolute rule: expired food must be disposed of, not sold off at a discount.

A safe meal begins with strong enforcement. Vietnam needs a 'Decree 168' version for food safety – and soon.