VN tightens fruit and vegetable safety controls to EU

Dragon fruit exported to the EU - Illustration photo

The Ministry asked the Plant Protection Department to boost its dissemination work and issue guidelines to localities and exporters to ensure their products qualified for export to the EU.

The Department will coordinate with the country's International Co-operation Department and the EU's side to solve any problems that arise concerning exports to the EU.

The examination was tightened after several batches of Vietnamese fruit and vegetables were recently reported to have contained a micro-organism that violated the EU's regulations on food safety and plant quarantine.

The European Commission's Directorate-General for Health and Consumers has reported that if they discovered five more violations as of January 5, they would issue an embargo on Vietnamese fruit and vegetable imports.

Chairmen of people's committees and relevant sectors in 63 cities and provinces were instructed to zone and develop fruit and vegetable growing areas in line with the Global Agricultural Organization, a non-profit body which provides support to the agricultural community on an international level.

Customs clearance would be issued when the exporters were able to show plant quarantine certificates for their products./.