A Shift in Food Safety Management Mindset Towards a Value Chain Approach is Needed

On January 21st, a conference addressing quality, processing, and market development for agricultural products in 2025 was held in Ho Chi Minh City. The conference aimed to unify the sector in implementing solutions for quality assurance and food safety, ultimately boosting processing and expanding markets for Vietnamese agricultural products. In 2024, the agricultural sector made significant strides in improving food safety, including achieving 100% of planned institutional improvements and granting thousands of planting area and packing facility codes for export. However, challenges remain, including supply chain disruptions and climate change impacts. Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Tran Thanh Nam, stressed the need for a shift towards a value chain approach to food safety management. This requires all stakeholders, from production to processing, to share responsibility for ensuring food safety. He emphasized that localities must trace and hold violating establishments accountable, citing difficulties in managing small-scale slaughterhouses. Deputy Minister Tran Thanh Nam directed that quality must be prioritized from the source to access more markets, highlighting that the focus on machinery over food safety in many processing plants hinders market access. He also emphasized the importance of Vietnam's OCOP products (One Commune One Product), which adhere to strict quality standards, and their growing popularity in international markets.